Storm aftermath often reveals gifts

August brings so many things our way. The beginning of school. Thankful prayers from parents. School zone traffic jams. Angry drivers. A more active time for tropical storms and hurricanes. Dog flies. The neighbor's roof.

Okay. The last one is normally a result of the more active time for tropical storms and hurricanes, but it could be the result of a very angry neighbor. With Tropical Storm Fay having just passed our way, and remembering to be thankful that it wasn't another Ivan or Katrina, I thought it might be a good time for all of us to stop and give thanks. Hurricanes give us so many things to be thankful for. Here is a list of a few that I have compiled during my almost 50 years of living in a hurricane zone:

Gifts from the sea (after hurricanes you can find shells, starfish, sand dollars, real dollars, and other peoples docks, piers, coolers, boats, and homes on the beach)

A reprieve from cooking (without electricity it is difficult to cook on an electric stove. Barbecue grills being the domain of men, and having an urgent need to cook everything before it spoils, gives the women of the house a break from cooking. DH will be very busy cooking, fetching ice and gas, running chainsaws, and cleaning up after the storm.)

Time for reading a book (during daylight hours only as there is no electricity)

A reason to buy new clothes (since the hurricane either blew them all away or you donated them to an area whose clothes were blown away)

The skylight you've been wanting in your house is now a reality (thanks to the roof being blown away in the storm)

A break from cleaning the house (either the inside was completely washed in the flood, or there is no house to clean)

A reason for the children to be outside (no electricity equals no video games, no television, no computer) and the yard needs a lot of cleaning

A time for treasure hunts (pack the family up in the car, drive around, have everyone look for a business that is open, has power, has gasoline, and accepts credit cards)

A legitimate reason for your significant other to use his power tools (chain saws, blowers, yard vacs, wood chippers, stump grinders, and all other power tools that exist)

Beautiful, quiet evenings spent around a campfire (forget that the campfire is in your front yard; forget that you are there because there is no power; forget that your dinner is on the camp fire and that it is hot dogs for the 13th day in a row)

You're finally losing weight (from sweating, not eating, chasing children, looking for gasoline, removing the trees and other debris from your yard, eating hot dogs and drinking nothing but water)

You finally get to meet all the people on your street, on the next street over, and everyone within wind distance (this is a result of either returning their items or them returning your items)

Some of the greatest parties you may ever have occasion to attend (some are block parties; some are garage parties - if any garages are left standing; some are pool parties, often the only way to cool off)

You get to meet some of the most caring, giving, thoughtful people (they give food, and clothing, and physical labor, depending on what you need, and they do it all from their heart)

I have found that it eases the stress and strain if we can laugh at whatever the weather blows our way.

But in all seriousness, there are so many things to be thankful for during hurricane season. No matter what the circumstances are before, during and after the storms, No. 1 on the list should always be, you and your family are safe and alive. Everything else becomes so much less important.

Wanda M. Argersinger is a writer, humorist and motivational speaker who has lived in Gulf Breeze since 1959.