Going to Heaven

I have a tendency to compare myself to other people.  This is OK and very human but I have a tendency to focus on where I'm lacking and not on where I shine.  A couple I know from The Program got burned out of their apartment during The Thomas Incident.  The guy called a man he sponsored who immediately opened up his home to them.

Fair enough - I would have done this, too.  He also immediately offered them a bed for as long as they needed one, and not the spare bed, either, but the master bedroom bed.  Now I see that I'm not comparing apples to apples here - he's a single guy going through a tough divorce so having some company to distract himself from himself is probably a good thing.  We married people always have someone around which is also a good thing - a very good thing - until the other person gets on your last nerve, a common happenstance in the long-term marriage, and this is less of a good thing.  I always laugh at SuperK's reaction when someone asks her if she's going to miss me when I'm off traveling: "HELL no.  Are you kidding?  Are you crazy?"  Now this is tongue in cheek to a certain degree because she knows I'm coming back but the point is that everyone needs some space.

I would not offer someone an indefinite use of my place.  My home is my refuge from other people.  I do not want other people living in my home.  This would be alarming and distasteful to me.  The only thing less admirable than not offering someone who has just lost their home a place to stay would be tossing them out on their ear in the middle of the night - something I can see myself doing.  This would be a very bad thing.  I would have a lot of guilt if I did this.

I grabbed the kind homeowner after the meeting yesterday and had an off-the-record conversation with him, along the lines of "are you OK with this?"  I know this situation would start to bug me and I didn't want him to beat himself up if he was starting to feel bugged.  He was in good shape, happy that he was being of service, giving back some love, and in no hurry to be by himself again.

Good for him.  He's going to heaven.