Crazy Stable

I woke up in Flatbush as usual this morning, groggy and anxious. I had an early phone conference, for one thing. 

Sunrise over Joplin, MO, May 24, 2011 (Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

As usual, my back ached and I resented our mattress, which has gone squishy only a few years after purchasing it. 

Ted Grabenauer sleeps on his front porch the morning after a tornado ripped the roof of his home in Joplin (Mike Stone / Reuters)

I worried about getting a handyman to patch the sheetrock where we'd removed the baby raccoons, and about whether or not we'd be able to afford it.  Talk about "it's always something." 

Street in Joplin, MO (Mike Gullett, AP)

I sent Daughter off to the bus with her lunch, but this morning I forgot to go to the window and wave.

Maggie Kelley and her husband, Trey Adams hug their dog, Saint, after finding him amid the rubble on their Joplin home. (Adam Wisneski, AP)

Our house is so badly in need of painting, plastering and floor refinishing that I sometimes feel utterly overwhelmed by the sheer weight of undone projects. I usually love the house, but sometimes I hate it for its mortifying shabbiness.

A note to rescue workers on a tornado-damaged house in Joplin.  (Adam Wisneski /AP)

Maybe I need to get a little perspective.