Grateful on a Friday

I was watching the clock last Friday afternoon, waiting for the acceptable time to let my boss know I was done for the day and ready to forget about Mammoth Restoration for the weekend. That is not like most Friday afternoons in workplaces all over the world. people are anxious to put the work week behind them and tend to whatever plans they may have for the Saturday and Sunday to follow. Some may have been headed to Kings Island, a trip my family will make in a month or so. Others may have been headed to a casino somewhere, as Tiffany and I will do next weekend. But for me, my anticipation was based on doing absolutely nothing for 2 whole days.

That may seem a little lazy or unmotivated to some of you. but after weeks upon weeks of wrestling tournaments and life's little errands, the thought of a couple baseball games, some home cooking, and working on the train sets in the garage was awfully appealing.

I also am quite aware of how fortunate I have been over the last couple years of my life. I end every blog with it being day # whatever and it is good to be me. From having my boys sleep in their own beds in my home to my little red sweetheart, I am able to count my blessings almost daily. But on Friday afternoon, I got another gentle reminder of how lucky I truly am when I got the call to head to a new claim.

After 13 years, what I do can become almost routine. I introduce myself to a family that has just been through a terribly traumatic event, tell them that me and my team can take great care of them, and hope they sign on the dotted line so that the company can grow and I can have a bigger paycheck. Don't get me wrong, it is never quite as black and white as that, and I constantly preach to people in the field that if your are in this for the money then you need to get out. In order to succeed in this industry you need to have genuine concern in your heart for people. But in a moment of honesty I will tell you that as much as I enjoy the job, as rewarding as I find it to help someone in their hour of need, if I did not need the money I would not work here.But I do so I do and so I got this claim Friday afternoon.

When I pulled up to the house, I knew immediately this would be one of the worst fires I had ever been in. more than half the home was reduced to complete ash. The other side had a few interior walls partially in tact, with the roof and most the outer walls no where to be found. I took a breath and addressed the homeowners, who were there with their 16 year old daughter. I asked if everyone was ok, and by the Grace of God they were out to dinner when the flames ravaged their home. I explained my role and we walked through the house.

They showed me a few damaged items here and there asked us to dig through the rubble to see what else we could find. I told them we would and the man thanked me. His daughter cried uncontrollably as she stood in what used to be her room, trying to find anything that she might have left.  I told her parents we would see if there was anything we could salvage, but they both knew it was a lost cause.

A couple pieces of charred but heirloom furniture and a few boxes of photographs is all we removed from their home. It was a very sad scene as I watched these people realize they had almost nothing left, but at the same time inspirational as I heard them say "we have each other that is all that matters" as I drove away.

When I arrived home to my much anticipated weekend of nothing, I took a walk around. In the garage I have trains set up and over 1000 matchbox cars to go with them. Each of my boys has a TV and 2 game systems in their rooms. We have a beautiful home and I though about what I would do if I was in the shoes of the people I had just let. it was an overwhelming thought, and I instead clicked on the Reds game and thanked God for the reminder of how lucky I truly am.

Been 58 days since the wedding, still so good to be me

Have a great day everyone...............

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