Sometimes I get so crabby. I read a pass-it-on email from a friend containing a supposed piece written by Jay Leno about American ingratitude. Whether it was written by him or not is not important. Truth is I gripe needlessly. Tonight I sat on my new deck, listening to the waterfall, the night birds, and the frogs after getting out of a light lined pool the perfect temp for a swim. Torches cast an added glow while discouraging insects. I was sipping a tall rootbeer float and I thought of all the things I gripe about. How spoiled am I?
My house is perpetually in a state of not-quite. But it's comfortable, no strike that. It's enjoyable. It's not the fancy, all impressive, manicured place that some of my friends live in, but they really are no happier with theirs than I am with mine. Sometimes I'm self-conscious when people with 'more' stare into my not-quite world, but tonight I realized how much I have, how much I enjoy it. I told my God "Thank you" tonight and I meant it.
I want to remodel my kitchen and I get snippy about it and am always looking forward. My ice maker can't be hooked up. My oven is too small. The space gets cramped when more than one of us is working there. The hot water stays hot until you turn it off, then you have to let it run again. But it's still more than adequate. I have all the appliances I can use and some I only use on rare occasions. It's all at my fingertips. Nothing breaks down regularly. I have to fill the ice tray so it will complete it's cycle. Wow, how hard is that. Yet I'm often ungrateful for a kitchen that many in the world would dream of. And yes, even when I remember and feel grateful, I still want to remodel it.
The list could go on and on. Truth is, we train ourself to be ungrateful. We watch all the latest and see all that's available and teach ourselves to want that. Advertising fuels sales and sales fill pockets so that someone somewhere can want more. I know we need a strong economy. But I'm not really hurting. I'm sure there are those who are. Yet, sometimes we are dissatisfied because someone somewhere is telling us we have less than we should have. It might be good for us to really think sometimes if our "needs" are even reality at all. I'm not rich. Or am I?
Do I need or want new shoes? Do I need or want a new car? Do I need or want to build a new master bedroom? Do I need or want a jacuzzi? (I definitely need a jacuzzi!)
My husbands niece said she won't let her kids watch cartoons - because of the commercials. When they watch cartoons, they won't play with the toys they have. They whine and beg and refuse to be happy with piles of toys recently acquired. Maybe it's time for some of us "grown-ups" to ask ourselves some hard questions like "Why do I gripe?"
The picture? My new deck. I made the table last Saturday with a little help from my mate. We drove 10 minutes to a super hardware store purchased the exact lumber we wanted from a large selection and I measured and cut and screwed and nailed and sanded with a wide selection of well made power tools. Then we carried it to the upper level our deck obtained in the same way, adorned it with a large wood and canvas umbrella and have enjoyed it repeatedly since. Why do I gripe?
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