I thought I'd make a list of things I'm grateful for and maybe that will help me to remain positive.

• It's in the 20's and not 5' with wind chills below zero
• The snow and ice have mostly melted around the well so we're not digging through 7" of snow and 2" of solid ice
• It's not August with temps over 100
• It's not raining, sleeting, or snowing (although the weekend looks like it may bring that)
• We have the hand pump on the original well so we can haul water to flush at will
• Neighbors who open their house and facets to allow me unlimited fresh water
• I filled both 50 gallon water tanks with fresh water the morning the pump went out so I won't have to haul water for animals for several days
• We have electricity so the house can function and the water heaters for the animals are working which means I'm not breaking ice several times a day
• I'm home and not at Walmart because Ed would have to do all this each evening or miss work without pay
• Ed's health is back because if this had happened last year at this time we would have had to call a contractor and pay several thousand dollars
• My brother in law is willing to come for the weekend and not only work but allow us to use his heated truck to haul the materials we'll need
• My children don't mind peeing outside - they think we're having an adventure
• I've got HUGE canning stock pots and can keep them full of hot water on the stove to use throughout the day
• The well is located in a very open area so if we can find a farmer with a backhoe to finish digging the hole he'll have access
• Ed dug to the pipe last night and it's plastic rather than galvanized
• We have wood, hay, and grain so I only need to worry about the water situation and not maintaing daily materials for the animals
• I have friends that don't mind our family showing up for showers and water refills
• Working at home has allowed me to clear my schedule completely and then work as I can without worrying about time off or angry bosses
• The selection of frozen meals in disposable containers is remarkably varied, albeit expensive, and fairly tasty
• Brother in law ordered a full winter overall set and received two so he gave one to Ed - he can work outside for several hours and stay very warm
• I was already planning ahead and only had to finish two loads of laundry at the laundry mat
• All of us are healthy and not having a family illness at the moment
• My husband has the temperment of acceptance and just "deals with it" rather than expressing anger or complaining about it
• A new well with pipe and everything will only be several hundred dollars rather than an expense of say, a basement flooding or walls caving in
• This is a problem Ed can fix and not have to use a contractor

I'm sure there is much more but we've always found that when in crisis it helps us to list just how much worse it could have been. We usually remind each other that yes that was hard work just now but thank goodness it's not ................ and fill in with one of the above.