First World Problems

In an effort to keep perspective of the life
that is mine to lead and to own,
I have begun classifying my problems
as
"First World Problems".

Examples:

*We have our delicious hormone-free milk delivered
to our house
every Thursday morning.
It has been such since 2008.
And yet,
there have been heated discussions
in our home
about bringing the milk into the house
before yahoos leave for school.
Whose responsible?
Who did it last time?
Who did I tell to bring it in and they didn't?
And why oh why didn't I notice that two gallons of milk
sat in the little milk box
until mid-afteroon,
or worse--
until the next day
when it was surely sour by then?!

See?
First World Problem.

* Our icemaker in the fridge doesn't work.
Well, it actually does...
but then water leaks down into the fridge
when we turn it on.
This is a worse problem in the heat of summer
than it is right now.
But still,
now we must BUY our ice at the store;
which means we must REMEMBER to BUY ice.
There is currently in my freezer
Zero Ice.

*My ten year old people-movin'-Suburban
is a gas sucker.
It costs me $87 real dollars to fill it up
on Monday.

* Arianna's violin lost a tiny metal bit
that must be replaced
before she can play it in orchestra again.
I have procrastinated taking it into the shop
because
a) I don't feel like driving into town to get it done.
b) I drive a gas-guzzling People Mover.

*Mr. W's medicine for his arthritic knees costs $47.00
after insurance!
Forty-seven real dollars!
Outrageous!

*Remember when I had that surgery last April
and it was supposed to be the best decision of the 21st century for me?
Yeah.
That has proven to be Not So Much.
I have to go again and see "what else is about it?"

All of these things are First World Problems.

If I lived in a Third World Country:

*I would not even have milk. Much less delivered to my door come rain or shine or sleet or snow. Not ever ever ever.

*If I was lucky enough to have electricity, I am almost dead-certain I'd not have a refrigerator. What would I put in it? One would have to have water to have ice.

*I would not own a car.  We bought it brand new off the lot. And I had the money to put the gas in it, despite the cost.

*My child would not get free music lessons at her public school. Period.

* As expensive as the meds are, we at least have insurance to help us pay for the meds so Mr. W gets relief from pain.

Yes, I think this line of thinking does wonders for my psyche.

Just yesterday,
as I was being toted around by my friend, Nan--
we went to lunch and then she had a couple of errands to run
in preparation for her 10-day vacation to Maui
which she left for this morning--
and one of the errands was to pick up her extra supply of insulin
at the pharmacy.
There was a communication problem with the insurance company
and my friend had to fork over $280 for two small vials of insulin.
(For which she will be reimbursed.)
She was stressing out over the inconveniance of it all--
but then I said,
"You're having a First World Problem. At least you have the money to buy
the meds before you go on vacation TO HAWAII." 

It's true.
It makes a difference when you take a moment
and put your trials into perspective
of the grand scheme of things.
What we might consider
unfair,
inconveniant,
frustrating,
or costly,
changes when we step back
and think on how very different our lives
would be
if we did, indeed,
live in a Third World Country.

Actually,
if we just look beyond the end of our own noses,
we don't have to look far at all
to see others who have it far worse than us.

So the next time you are ready to crack under pressure,
try a different approach in your contemplation
and see if you're really having
First World Problems.


Now, if you'll excuse me
I GET to go heat up some egg drop soup (that I picked up from a Chinese restaurant)
for Arianna
because she GOT to go to the Dentist this morning
and get a filling and an extraction.