People keep telling me there is a silver lining behind every misfortune.

Well, there are misfortunes and there are disasters. In Florida we are definitely dealing with a hurricane disaster that has no quick fix.

While there will no doubt be silver linings down the road for some, most of us are presently consumed with solving ongoing problems.

Some who don’t live in an area leveled by the hurricane have asked me what silver lining l found after Hurricane Ira destroyed my home.

As I continue to grapple with ongoing reconstruction problems and an unscrupulous insurance company that seems to have no intention of paying to honor my insurance policies I wasn’t quite ready to talk about silver linings.

The closest I can come to citing a silver lining are the wonderful neighbors who help me out when I am in a bind.

They have their own major problems because they’re struggling to repair their own homes. Some are still living in a travel trailer.

I call my neighbor Chris “Saint Christopher” because he keeps saving me. He has a lot of work to do on his own damaged home yet he’ll stop working on it to solve one of my problems.

Sometimes it’s a small fix. Other times it’s something monumental.

I have been unable to fix the fence that blew down during the hurricane, turning the outside of my place into a junk yard. I had no hope of being able to come up with $3,000 to fix it.

Chris said it was ridiculous for a company to charge $3,000 for the repair.

I was astonished when he did what others said was impossible. He fixed the old fence by straightening parts and jury-rigging wire for a support system.

I cried when I saw the finished fence.

How does someone thank a guy like Chris?

His extraordinary good deed seemed to turn my luck around.

Because most but not all of my furniture was destroyed in the hurricane, I’ve been making do with next to nothing except for an old sofa given to me many years ago by Chris’ mother.

I’ve been making the rounds of secondhand stores looking for something we could use to watch TV.

Some of the available used stuff was dismal, covered with grime. I came away discouraged when I thought about my good furniture that was destroyed in the hurricane.

Then someone told me about Marketplace on Facebook. I don’t know how I never knew about all the things available locally.

Just about every area has a Facebook Marketplace and many of the offerings are amazing.

I had my heart set on a big white leather sofa and there were nice offerings almost every day. But I learned one has to act fast because furniture would be sold almost immediately.

I learned part of the problem is that so many of us lost furniture during the hurricane so there is a great demand. I missed out on some nice leather sofas because I didn’t act fast enough.

Finally, when I saw another leather sofa online I called for an appointment to see it.

It was a large cream-colored leather sofa with two electric reclining sides. It was in good shape and once we sat on it we were happy to say “sold.”

Making a good deal even better, the seller agreed to deliver it to my house for an extra $50.

I was as happy as a kid at Christmas when they delivered it in time for the little birthday get-together I was having for Chris’ mother.

After they left I was thrilled to be able to luxuriate on the soft sofa and watch TV.

I bought a lot of furniture over the years but I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited over a new purchase.

When one loses most of the contents in a house it becomes a very big deal when the house is no longer empty.

I kept telling friends “I’m so excited with my perfect sofa.”

Now that I learned about the local marketplace I don’t think I can ever justify paying big bucks for furniture. Plus, it’s actually fun to go looking, something like finding a great bargain at a yard sale.

In the process of getting my fence repaired and having a comfortable sofa I gained something else - a silver lining.

The silver lining is regaining a deeper appreciation for every single simple thing.

In turn, that heightened appreciation has made me happy, happy, happy.

Sure, I was always a grateful person, happy with my daily life.

But when the hurricane changed my life and turned every day into a problem plagued nightmare, I lost my perspective.

The good news is my sense of gratitude not only came back, it came back stronger than ever.

Instead of letting problems overtake me, I have renewed joy for all the simple things in life.

A special friendship, the serenade of an early-morning bird, a plush, comfortable sofa - all these simple things feed my joy.

I’ve learned life isn’t about what you don’t have. It’s about appreciating what you do have.

And I know I have so much for which to be thankful.

So, yes, I can say my deeper, renewed sense of gratitude is definitely a silver lining for me.

I’ve finally regained my positive perspective.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net