One of the jobs my insurance company has charged me with doing is to compile a list of what all I lost in the hurricane.

To jar my memory I had to look at the photos we took as we lugged wet, damaged things to the curb.

I knew it was going to be a hard task. What I didn’t anticipate was how sad I would be when forced to think of all that I lost.

I am not a materialistic person. Never was and never will be.

Mike, my close high school classmate, has known me since I was in junior high school. We stayed close through the years as we’ve weathered the storms of life.

So one would think he knows me rather well. That’s why I was surprised when he did my astrology chart. For the most part, it was right on except for one important thing.

The chart said material things were important to me.

I know what makes me tick and what gives me joy. I know it’s not material things.

Mike thinks I’m materialistic because I love pretty things. He doesn’t understand it isn’t the grand, expensive stuff that turns me on.

What I could always relate to during my trips to Italy was what I saw as the Italian way of life. Village people have small homes and not many possessions. But what they do have is definitely pretty. And each homeowner finds ways to add colorful flowers outside their home. It makes a striking picture.

When I visited an Italian antique market everything was exquisite. After spending a day among all that beauty I bought only one antique serving spoon. True to my Italian heritage, I have a pattern of buying little but loving what I buy.

Before the hurricane, my home reflected that. I didn’t have a lot of doodads or household decorations. But what I did have had meaning, especially if it was something given to me.

The hand-carved blue heron in flight that was a gift from my daughter Maria and the stained-glass lamp that was a gift from one of the last Panther Valley miners are examples of meaningful things I will miss.

As I compiled a list I of what I lost I couldn’t help but feel sad. It’s not the individual things as much as the enormity of having everything gone all at once.

As I looked through the rubble I was like most people in searching for what was meaningful.

It hurt when I thought about losing many of the photos of my daughters when they were young. I always felt wonderful when seeing those photos brought such warm memories.

But then I realized an important reality. It’s more important that I still have my incredibly wonderful daughters. I know I am blessed beyond belief.

As the oldest in my family, I was the keeper of very old family photos dating back to several generations.

I often told my brother I was keeping the vintage photos safe in a high cabinet. I’m hoping when we unpack boxes some of the photos might survive.

But again, the most important thing that survives and grows stronger through the years is the love I have for my brother, my family and my friends.

It’s love that is our most worthwhile possession.

I don’t mean to make it sound like losing your home and much of what was in it is easy.

There are times when the enormity of it all is overwhelming and times when I have to block out the memory of that scary night when I didn’t think I would survive the hurricane winds trying to knock down my home.

I have always loved the feel of wind on my face but yesterday when the winds were picking up I was starting to feel fright, something I never felt before the hurricane.

I’m truly an outdoor person and I love all the elements of nature. But I never want to stay here during another hurricane.

There are definitely days when I have to give myself an attitude adjustment, reminding myself of all I have to be grateful for.

When I go to the closet for a sweater and realize they all got ruined in the hurricane my next thought is that I am wrapped in the warmth of a loving Jesus.

Attitude is everything.

If anything, the hurricane has made me even more grateful than before it all happened.

I’m not the only hurricane survivor that feels this way. My friend Andy lost part of his home, his newly remodeled lanai and his pontoon boat. Yet, he says he’s never felt more grateful for life.

This morning as I opened the front door and started my morning gratitude walk, I was awed by the colors of the sky and the changing light show we call morning.

There is so much beauty in our world - far more than we can comprehend.

As I took my walk and gloried in the natural world I was filled with joy, enjoying the gift of the new day.

My joy of living every day is coming back.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.