Talk Back with Ellen Wood

Sorry to give you bad news,” the insurance adjuster said.

“You’re not covered for surface water.”

I blurted out, “That’s not bad news; that’s tremendously disappointing news. Bad news is if one of my kids got hurt.”

I’m sharing this with you because this was a trying situation in which I applied one of my anti-aging action steps – choose how to respond – and it worked again! Here’s what happened: the day before yesterday, late in the afternoon, there was a gigantic hail storm at my house, with hail the size of mothballs. The noise was deafening and since I had never experienced anything like this before, I gleefully took photos. Meanwhile, downstairs where my bedrooms and office are, water was pouring in through a closed window and I didn’t discover it until there was an inch and a half of water covering all the floors. (Runoff from the mountain contributed to this.)

I put on rubber-soled shoes, waded into the water, shut down the circuit breakers and called 911 and some good friends who live nearby. Then I began bailing out while saying: “Something good will come of this,” over and over. Even though it’s not yet an ingrained habit, repeating that affirmation is how I choose to respond anytime I have a challenge. It keeps me from freaking out while I take appropriate action and there’s always something good that comes along if I stay open and allowing.

Three friends and two men from our fabulous volunteer fire department showed up and went to work with a shop vac and all my towels. Throughout the cleanup I continued saying, “Something good will come of this,” and kept my sense of humor, helped by the others and their can-do spirit. I just took it in my stride when one neighbor said, as I was helping move furniture around, “You’re strong and spry, and you’re no spring chicken.” Well… actually I huffed back, “I am SO a spring chicken.” He murmured, “Oh, right. Sorry.”

Well, the floors (just put in last October) are ruined but it could have been far worse. Thank God I hadn’t already left on my trip to England and France. (I leave today.) And thank God I had the presence of mind to turn off the circuit breakers. And thank God our neighborhood is loving and caring. And thank God our fire department responds so quickly. Our chief was just awarded “Fire Chief of the Year” for the whole country and no wonder!

I’m still saying, “Something good will come of this,” and staying open. I got an unexpected check in the mail today for $111.29, and we’ll see what else happens. Maybe someone wonderful and interesting will sit next to me on my flight to London.

If you find yourself with a challenge, say, “Something good will come of this.” Put it on an index card if that helps and remember what John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” Yep. Or perhaps you’ll like what Mark Twain had to say even better: “Life is one damn thing after another.” Just keep in mind, no matter what happens, you can choose how you respond.

Joy and Blessings,
Ellen
P.S. Thank you for the beautiful, heartwarming emails after my dog died. I love you all.

12 Comments so far:

12 Responses to “Sorry to give you bad news,” the insurance adjuster said.”