Real Problems.

Today I woke up sick, as I was yesterday, with a gnarly cold. Not my favorite thing. I called in sick to work and cuddled up to my cat, reaching over every so often for a Kleenex and a sip of water. As I dozed off to sleep, I heard the single most fearsome noise of all time: the Street Sweeper. I jumped out of bed and ran to my car but it was too late- I'd gotten my first parking citation in years. $44. Seriously? Because today couldn't get any worse??

So I laid in bed with my laptop and looked up reasons I could fight the ticket, and how unfair they were, etc., etc. This was hours ago. And suddenly a thought occurred to me: I'm an asshole.

If a Parking Ticket is the biggest of my worries, I really have a LOT to be grateful for.

The ironic thing is that it was totally my fault. I left my car there, I could have taken notice of the street sign or gotten up or whatever. And I didn't, so I should pay the stupid ticket. It's not like Street Sweeping is a new thing around here. Even my cold isn't life-threatening. Last year I had Walking Pneumonia at the and of the year. A little cold isn't going to kill me. In fact- I was sort of relieved that I felt I should stay home (don't want to spread it to co-workers!) and lay back. This Thanksgiving we went to my niece's wedding in Utah and it was very much a go-go-go trip, followed by a 16-hour drive home in a minivan with my family and their dog. A day to spoil myself with peace and quiet and soup and movies is just what the doctor ordered, in more ways than one.

How many times do we (see: I) do this? We make mountains of our molehills and create these extravagant injustices of how shoddy of a deal we've been handed? "I'm Sick," "He hasn't called," "My favorite shirt got ruined." These are not real problems. And if I take my top five "problems" in my life right now- my bet is that I'll feel really, REALLY stupid for thinking they're a big deal. For some reason, my mind flashes to the cover of a Sia album, titled: Some People Have Real Problems.

Those some people are not me, or most likely YOU- for that matter.

I suppose this is an appropriate subject for the week after Thanksgiving, and I ought to have written something about what I'm grateful for last week. But I was too busy, or distracted, or just plain down in the dumps about whatever little dramas I have going on in my life. I know that most women tend to crave drama, and I'm the first to admit that I've probably hopped on that train more than once. But the point isn't to be perfect, it's to be aware. I want to be aware of all that I have, and aware of all the trials I don't have in my life. I want to be aware that I am really, really lucky, because some people have REAL problems, and I'm not one of them.

And now, a few mellow-time songs you've been missing (without even knowing it):






This girl can do no wrong: