Comments on: How to Be Alright When the Ceiling Caves In

By: Charlotte Rains Dixon

Charlotte Rains Dixon — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:11:24 +0000

Yes, I believe in luck, and your story is just one example of why. It is easy to get overly worked up when something we rely on–like an appliance, or, oh say, a ceiling–breaks, but your statistics remind us of how lucky we are.

By: Juliana

Juliana — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 01:10:26 +0000

Ugh! What a pain. And yet, as you point out, how fortunate are we to have safe homes generally!
By the way, the stained glass in the photo is beautiful. Where is located?

By: Marci

Marci — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:11:36 +0000

I’m so glad you and your little guy were not in there when the ceiling came in. I think I would panic, doubt, fret too. It does remind me how much I take for granted. Having a roof over my head tonight, having healthy kids, and a pillow to lay my head on. I can usually get to a thankful place in my head, but I detour too. When you feel threatened, we all want to flee or fight back, don’t we?

By: Eva @ EvaEvolving

Eva @ EvaEvolving — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:56:32 +0000

Oh, it’s so unnerving when something major goes wrong with your home. It’s so stable, so tangible, so necessary! Last December (yes, December, 3 days before Christmas) our furnace broke down. Not only broke down, but needed to be replaced for safety reasons. And that was jarring to us – very stressful. But we made it through, and appreciated a warm house a little bit more after that!

I do believe in luck – although I try to see good luck more than bad luck. Seems like whatever you open your eyes to will find you.

By: Rudri

Rudri — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:56:22 +0000

Glad everyone is ok. Having your ceiling cave in is certainly unsettling.

When I lived in Houston, Hurricane Ike rolled in and we lived without electricity for 10 days. There was devestation everywhere. That statistic you presented at the end – certainly humbling.

By: rob white

rob white — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:20:44 +0000

oops! Belinda!… forgive me I got confused…

By: rob white

rob white — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:18:24 +0000

Hi Pretti,
These little disasters are blessings in disguise when viewed rightly. This summer the Boston area was without potable drinking water for a few days due to a burst mainline pipe. The entire area was asked to boil their water before drinking. It was really a great wake up call to appreciate the mere fact that we have access to clean running water. Ultimately, it was a great gift to be able to appreciate that which we take for granted on a daily basis… and just writing this is giving me a renewed appreciation for the glass of water sitting next to me!

By: Sara Healy

Sara Healy — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:01:06 +0000

Belinda — It’s always scary when something like this happens in your house, especially since it happened in your son’s room. I’m glad you were away and that he’s safe.

I’ve been lucky about things falling on my home, especially since it’s gone through several hurricanes. Your story, however, reminded me of the big oak tree that was outside my daughter’s rooms. Whenever we had a big storm, like a hurricane or a storm with lots of heavy winds and lightning, I would make them come and sleep in our bedroom, which was on the other side of the house. They were not happy with me, but I could rest:~) In the over thirty years we’ve lived in house, the oak tree never did fall from a storm. It eventually had to be taken down due to illness..

I am glad you and family are okay from this ceiling collapse!!!!

By: Jenny Ann Fraser

Jenny Ann Fraser — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:28:37 +0000

I’m so glad that you’re all safe and sound!
So sorry to hear about your ceiling. It sounds expensive as well as stressful, but I think you are brilliant in the way that you are handling it.
Best wishes to you and yours!

By: Patty - Why Not Start Now?

Patty - Why Not Start Now? — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:22:33 +0000

Hi Belinda – So glad to hear the crisis is over. But you know, I think you have wrangled a good metaphor for us here: that even when the ceiling falls in (the actual or metaphorical structure over our heads), we’re not only resilient enough to bounce back but also able to find our way back to gratitude for simply having a ceiling. I’m going to have to ponder that one for a bit, in fact. And yes, we’ve had our share of home malfunctions, most recently an unnerving electrical problem. I’ve gotten jaded over the years of home ownership, though. What’s that they say: “Things fall apart.” Houses too!