3/01/2012

Perspective.


Ok, I'll admit it.

I've been a bit of a grump lately.

I'm not sure why, exactly, probably some combination of sickly and puking kiddos coupled with a severe case of spring fever and not enough alcohol to drown it out, with a side of not enough time doing what I love, like reading and hot gluing and sewing and sitting on the couch eating Doritos and watching Survivor while trying to get Jeff Probst to tweet me back.  Jeff, I'm here!!!!  Right here!!!  I'm your biggest fan!!!

Ahem.

Anyway, I knew my behavior had been noticed when cj interrupted a perfectly reasonable conversation I was having with zj about why his socks didn't "feel right" and how he was going to have to by-God wear his socks to school anyway and STOP. WHINING. NOW. THEY. ARE. JUST. SOCKS!!! with "Mama, shhhhhhhhhhh. You watch your ATTITUDE!  NOW!"

Nothing like getting called out by your two year old.

Then on Wednesday, I got up, got the boys dressed and got zj off to school, then bundled cj in the car and headed to the grocery, which is NOT on my list of favored tasks.  And I was grumpy about it. Very, very grumpy.

I usually go to this other store ok, it's Wal-Mart, stop judging me, it's cheaper, but I had a couple store coupons for Kroger, so I went there instead.

On the way there, it was raining and dreary and windy, which matched my "I hate to grocery shop" mood perfectly.

I did my grocery shopping, grumbling about it the whole time - "Why do they put these displays in the aisle so I can't get around them?" "What kind of store doesn't carry cherry extract?" "$5 for bacon? Highway robbery!!!" "Cj, stop grabbing.  STOP GRABBING!!!  STOP GRABBING!!!!" - but I did it.

It was POURING rain when we left, and cj and I both got soaked.  Grumble, grumble, grumble...

It wasn't until after I had been home for a little while that I realized I had missed something major.

I got a text from a friend.  "You guys ok?" she texted.  "I heard the weather was pretty bad up there."

Hmmm...  Considering she lives several hundred miles away, I thought that was strange.  I got online and read with shock and horror that there had been four - FOUR - confirmed tornadoes in my neck of the woods - one of them just minutes from where I had been grocery shopping with cj.

And then the texts, Facebook messages, emails and calls began pouring in.  People I hadn't talked to in years - literally, years - were checking in to make sure we were ok.

And we were.  We were fine.  So fine, in fact, that I missed all the terribleness going on all around me.

But not everyone was so lucky.

Someone I used to work with lost her house.   Her roof was ripped off and her house was pretty much a total loss.

Other I know had major storm damage.

Fifty homes, give or take, were damaged and/or destroyed.

Lives were changing all around me and I was pissed about the price of laundry detergent and a poor selection of grapes.

So I don't care what you call it - good karma, divine blessings, or something else to suit you, but my family has it.  In spades.

My boys are healthy and happy.  I have a wonderful husband who provides for us.  We have everything we need, and most of the things we want, and I have a great group of extended family and friends.  My biggest worry on most days is what to cook for dinner and most of my difficult decisions revolve around whether to stay up and watch Castle on Monday nights or just to let the dvr catch it for me.  We are blessed.  And I need to remember that.

Ok, I got it.  I can be obtuse sometimes and stubborn other times, but I got it now.  Message received.

One attitude adjustment, coming right up.



2 comments:

  1. This made me smile so big! I know the feeling..... We are blessed and it could always be worse, why tempt fate eh?! ;-0

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    Replies
    1. Janet, sometimes I have to be hit upside the head with a bit of flying debris to remember just how lucky we really are. It's good that I'm reminded sometimes :-)

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