In some ways, it feels like I’m running a bed-and-breakfast. I get up each morning and walk through the house to tidy up. I wipe splashes on the mirrors and sinks in the bathrooms and make sure there are fresh towels and enough toilet paper. I do my breakfast dishes and wipe the kitchen counter. I check the refrigerator to make sure there are enough cold water bottles.
Sometimes I pull out turkey and cheese so my harried guests can make sandwiches for lunch. None of us wants to take the time to go out  — there’s too much to do. Yesterday afternoon, when I sensed patience and energy waning, I pulled out the big guns: a bag of Reese’s Pieces I grabbed while running errands that morning. Chocolate, especially with peanut butter, always works miracles.
After eight days of 40 machines running 24/7 to suck the water out of our office walls, ceilings and floors, the place has been declared dry. Today I will meet the contractor to find out what has to be rebuilt, and how long that will take.
One of my favorite books from childhood is The Little Engine that Could. Many times in the last 21 years, I have forced its message — “I think I can, I think I can” — into my head during challenging times.  I have often (never more than this week) looked at a small wooden train I keep in my home office to remind me to just keep moving forward: “Puff, puff, chug, chug….”
When Calendar & Directories Editor appeared on Arizona Midday recently, she talked about how we were coping with the devastation at our office following the June 2 flood.
“We’re managing,” Mala said. “We’ve always been the little magazine that could.”
