Sep 2, 2014

First World Problems

The first day back after a long weekend is always a little crazy, just because of the catch-up stuff that always ensues from things coming in over the weekend.  But on top of the "normal" craziness, I also had to deal with a dying router - the wifi is working fine but the wired ports are dying out.  I wasn't really sure, until I got up this morning, whether I would be able to work from home (as I have for nearly 4 years) or if I would have to actually prepare myself for the public and go in to work from the office (which I really dislike having to do).  Fortunately for my sanity, the router decided to behave and I was able to stay home in my PJs and get my work done.

As first-days-of-the-week go, I've had worse.  I've also had better.  At one point I told someone (either Lauren or Josh - I don't remember) that I thought Tuesday was making up for us having the day off on Monday by being extra obnoxious.  Overall tho, I finished the day with decent production numbers and even managed to make my bed, finish my laundry, and make dinner on my breaks and lunch. I was able to get off at 2:30, and without a drive home, have had about 90 minutes to decompress before the kids get home from school.  I have taken full advantage of this time - took a shower to decompress and clear my mind, cleaned out my bathroom cabinet and re-organized that stuff into the main closet (its amazing how many bottles of shampoo can get lost in the back of a cabinet!), and now I'm sitting here typing while dinner finishes up in the crock pot.

And it struck me that I've been kinda complain-y lately.  I don't handle technical frustration very well - I expect tech to work, and when it doesn't, I get grouchy.  But really ... we have our "basics" covered ... which are really a lot more than most of the rest of the world has.  A house - it's not huge but certainly not small, and it has a good yard and a nice basement that (usually) doesn't flood.  Plenty of food - we buy in bulk and eat cheap, but we never go hungry.  Three cars - some would call that a necessity with three teens!  We are able to go to Six Flags for fun and St. Louis to visit family; we have computers that allow us to play online games with friends from around the world; we have a microwave and a washer/dryer and a dishwasher and multiple other modern conveniences.  Re-organizing my closets to simplify and condense my stuff made me think ... how much of the world has enough "stuff" that they even "need" closets ... plural ... to store it in???

So ... I really am thankful, and I really just sometimes need to remember that I have more than most, and not complain so much when some of those things aren't working like I want them to.  I'm not saying I'm going to pare down to the absolute essentials and go live in a tent with a bicycle ... but there are people in the world who will never know more than that, and others who have as much as (or more than) I do but are forced to leave it behind or face death.  With that in mind, I've decided there is a lot in my life/house that I can live without - what do you have?