Another snow day?

Our frozen tree, our frozen walkway, our icy driveway

The cold, wet and miserable weather is still a metaphor today, although my thoughts are on another subject than yesterday.

Why is life so unfair?

Why is my friend still suffering from her fight with cancer. She's slowly withering away. (Not that I want the alternative, I just wish she weren't so sick!). I have to remember she would do anything to be well enough to shovel the driveway, even walking to the mailbox would be a huge feat for her today. Here I moan to myself "my aching shoulders!"

Earlier, I was wondering why children always congregate here on snow days. I can't remember a snow day when both my kids were elsewhere. Today N has 2 friends over. They are playing inappropriate video games that "good moms don't allow 10 year olds to play". Lunch was an unhealthy mac-n-cheese followed by a vanilla-pudding chaser. Sodas to drink. But that's the risk when you outsource your kids to me... bad supervision and poor judgment.

Lamenting that kids congregate here (maybe because I let them play COD for several hours) I realize I have absolutely NOTHING to complain about. Having the house filled with kids is a blessing, not a curse! Just ask Mr and Mrs Jem. Another failed IVF - with all the emotional turmoil and disappointment - and across the country I am complaining  that the kids are always here... instead of remembering: how lucky I am that kids want to hang in our living room (hopefully not because of the video games and snack-drawer), or build forts in our yard.

As I edit this one last time, I realize another good thing in my life that I'm often complaining about: Diego... and specifically his fetish for shoes (I just had to yell "LEAVE IT!" to another slipper. We almost lost him 3 weeks ago... I'd rather have him safe and healthy than any shoes. 

So instead of seeing all this ice and thinking What a NUISANCE! I'm thinking how beautiful it is. It's not always in my nature to turn around the negative. But I'm learning. Sometimes the easy way, sometimes through others' struggles. There's a reason they call life a journey.  
Close up.

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