Project 365 Day 226: Gratitude

A couple things happened today that renewed my love for my fellow central Iowans as well as my gratitude that we were able to move back home last summer.

On Tuesday night, in the midst of the storm that caused the Great Central Iowa Floodpocalypse of 2010, we may or may not have driven through a few areas of standing water in spite of the repeated Emergency Alert exhortations to "Turn around, don't drown!" In our defense, it was dark, stormy, and really hard to see giant puddles of water until you were in the middle of them. We did make it home safely, but when we got in the car the next day, we noticed a funny sound and realized that something had come loose on the bottom of the car.

Adam was able to use man's best friend (duct tape) to rig up a temporary fix, and this afternoon we drove the car to the Ford dealership in Ankeny, where we take it for oil changes. We drove right up to the service department, handed over the keys, and went to the waiting area. Less than ten minutes later the head mechanic came to tell us that it was a simple fix and that they weren't going to charge us for it. Although we did buy the car at that dealership, and we have our regular maintenance done there as well, we were still really pleased and definitely couldn't see that happening in the DC area.

After a lunch at Chili's, we drove back home. I checked the Ames Tribune site for the status of the water use restriction (I needed to do laundry and our tomatoes were REALLY thirsty!) and found this article, which stated that the restriction had been lifted but the boil order was still in effect.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the comments section below the article: criticisms of the city because the water use restriction had lasted so long? Complaints that there was no projected end to the boil order? Instead, there were several posts praising and thanking city workers and volunteers for their hard work and dedication during the last few days, and not one single complaint.

This week has certainly had its share of inconvenience and frustration, but living among the people of Ames with their great attitudes and community spirit has helped us realize how fortunate we are. I hope at some point we'll get a break from our Year of Disastrous Weather (TM), but it's much easier to deal with when we live in such a great place.

P.S. See, Adam? I can be not-cynical. :)