Purposeful gratefulness

I am tempted to whine about things this-morning.  I don’t think it matters that most of the whining takes place in my head… it’s still there, right?  So as these things come to mind, I have decided to take a look around and find something to be grateful for in that same area.  Here’s the list:

*Mountains of laundry.  I want to whine about how much dirty laundry my house (and those living in it) produce.  I’d even like to whine about my tiny top-loader that doesn’t do big enough loads for my liking.  Then I look around.  From my house I can *literally* see a handful of women washing their laundry in the dirty stream that runs just outside our property.  They scrub their clothes on a rock, then wring them out by hand, then toss them over near-by bushes and fences to dry.  These same women are all barefoot, as are their children running around near them.  They are probably washing the one change of clothes that they own.  This is what you call a dose of reality.  I’m complaining about having SO many clothes to wash.  In a machine.  When they’re clean, I throw them in a dryer!

*Filthy tile floor.  Look out a different direction from our living room.  I promise you that many of the houses you can see from here have mud floors.  Not tile, not even a dreaded linoleum.  Just dirt.  `Nuff said.

*Loud children.  I have two little girls, who are so enraptured with their current game, they can’t stop squealing and giggling.  Not only do they like each other enough to play together for hours on end, but they are healthy enough to run and jump and laugh for hours on end!

*Dirty refrigerator.  Not only is a refrigerator a commodity in most indian homes, but a full refrigerator??  Unheard of!  My fridge is a mess because of the drinkable yoghurts that have been knocked over by little hands.  Half-emptied coke cans left by visitors have been toppled in an attempt to locate which coke is whose… a serious dilemma, to be sure!  My fridge is cluttered with leftover containers, full of leftovers!  Excess food!  While you may not live in a 3rd World country, I am sure you have seen people who leave the dinner table still hungry, on a regular basis.

*Smudged windows and mirrors.  Glass is my constant annoyance.  I am forever grabbing the Windex and paper towels in an attempt to keep the mirrors and windows clean!  This-morning as I sprayed a window and reached for the towel, I was struck by a terrible thought.  Some day, I won’t have tiny little hand prints all over the windows anymore.  I am quite sure that some day, I will be in tears because I miss those tiny hand-prints, and not because I’ve washed that particular window 3 times already this week.

*Love handles.  I suppose this goes back to the same thing as the refrigerator.  I *could* be starving to death somewhere, then I wouldn’t have to worry about love handles.

*Slow internet.  Really???  Am I seriously wanting to complain about this???  I happen to know of a missionary family who lives SO FAR OUT in the middle of nowhere that they only get the chance to go to town and check e-mail once a month.  And I think I don’t get to talk to my friends and family enough???

*Being sick.  What better way to be reminded of how great it feels to be healthy?

Now I’m going to go back to putting away clean laundry.  Then I’ll sit and read a few books with my rowdy girls.  So much to be grateful for!