count your blessings

Here we are again, Gothenburg friends, finding ourselves wanting to complain about a few slimy and bumpy spots on the dirt road home or a wet area around the drain in the basement laundry room that won't go away. Yes, our gardens are drenched. Yes, our crops seem to be a little behind the average for this time of year. And yes, your kids probably didn't get to play all of the summer league baseball they were scheduled for.

But take a quick look toward the east. And not too far east at that.

Some of our county neighbors in Cozad and Lexington will be pumping water for days and businesses have had to close, at least temporarily, because their buildings have so much water damage.

And then there's Kearney, Gibbon, Shelton and Wood River. Three days after the torrential downpour, water continues to rise in many of these cities. Folks have been washed out of their homes and their businesses, using boats to get around city streets. It will take weeks, even months, to recover ... if they recover at all. For some in Gibbon and Wood River, this is the second time in just a few short months they've watched as their livelihoods floated away.

In Gothenburg, we've thankfully been spared from the worst of it both times — in March and again this month. No doubt there have been some inconveniences here and some questionable moments, but we have so much to be grateful for.

If you have the time and resources, offer a helping hand to our neighbors in need. If not, kind words and prayers cost you nothing. Remember, there's always, always, always something to be grateful for.