Cyndi's Two Cents

Living the dream

Commentary.

We are vigilant in checking water flow from all the faucets and the bathroom stool throughout the day and night as the temperature hovers in the 5 to 10 below zero region on the thermometer. If the wind blows and the wind chill drops below negative 20, you’re going to wish you’d taken a bath or shower the night before! The lines that carry water in our big old farm house weren’t made for a steady diet of bone-chilling arctic air we’ve experienced time and again this winter.

Despite the fact that my face hurts when I am walking to the barns, and that my feet have been cold more than they’ve been warm these past few weeks, I am able to put it all into a perspective that isn’t so bad.

Let me explain: I came back to my office this afternoon slightly agitated. I had planned to run down the street to purchase a couple of small electric heaters for our house. Our furnace is electric start, but propane powered, and we all know how expensive that fuel is today! Add to that, the bitter cold that seeps in through door and window frames and up through an under-insulated floor, entering my home forcefully, as an enemy with hostile intent. (Perhaps that’s a bit melodramatic, but simply saying “it is danged cold” didn’t seem to suffice.)

When I asked where I would find the heaters, I was told “at another store in another town.”

On the way back to my car at Lowe’s, I was nearly run over, first by a speeding car and next by a speeding car that slid on ice in the parking lot. Driving on icy, snow packed streets requires a bit of patience and caution, neither of which were evidenced by the behavior of the majority of the drivers I encountered in town today.

I was not in a very positive state of mind when I walked (with cold feet) back into my corner office. Then I re-read a column I had written for this paper several years ago and chuckled to myself at how truly fortunate I am. Here’s an excerpt:

The American Dream is a state of mind. My yardstick for measuring success differs greatly from that of my friends who live and work in Kansas City or Columbia or St. Louis. You cannot mass produce or divide equally among the people something as awesome as an individual’s hope and dreams. Our forefathers laid out a plan to give us opportunity. It is through our own hard work and planning and hours of commitment that we are able to achieve the American dream.

I am living the American dream! So much opportunity is mine! To work hard. To pay my bills. To own our own home and farm. To volunteer. To donate to causes in which I believe. I am free to worship and dance and speak my mind. If the cold feet and drafty old farm house really bother me that much, I will plan and work to make the necessary changes.