FWP

The other day I texted Darren:

Me: I am having a rough day.  I have been running errands all day and didn't have time to work out this morning.

Darren: FWP

Me: FWP?

Darren: First World Problems

Me:  LOL your right.

It's the truth. It really put things into perspective.  I was expecting something like, "oh, I'm sorry babe."  and maybe some flowers or something. But that's one of the things I love about Darren.  He keeps it real. And I appreciate that. 

I have been thinking a lot about Darren's simple text.  Most of my "problems" are not really problems.  I have been struggling with living in such a "small" house.  Then I saw this blog with this picture.

How would you like the house on the top right?

I should know better.  I have been to 3rd world countries- Guatemala and Belize, and Mexico 3 times. And those aren't even the really poor countries! I have seen poverty.  Sometimes I just need a reminder. Sometimes we all need a reminder. I think that every American should visit a 3rd world country.  Just to see how the rest of the word lives. Especially our children.  I can not WAIT for the day when Darren is a Nurse Anesthetists and we have enough money to go on humanitarian trips like Project Smiles!  I fully intend on taking all my kids with us so they can be more grateful for the things we have and see that not everyone in the world lives the way we do. And the ironic thing is, is that a lot of the time those people are happier and more grateful than Americans.  I could go on about this- but that's a different post.

And so I have decided, if its not high up on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs- I'm going to try and quit complaining about it.   Things like, "my cell phone gets bad reception, my garage is tiny, I had to run errands all day, my church is 20 min. away, my closet is a mess (because I have to many clothes, hello!) Walmart is out of limes, I have 2 kids to each bedroom, my car is 12 years old and the power steering only works when it wants, My kids broke a cup, got stains on my favorite towel, and mess up the house,"  You get the idea.

I love my freedom, I love to breath, to eat,  to sleep, to exercise.  I love my family, my children- oh how I love my children and my baby, I love my 12 year old car, the schools here, electricity, the air conditioning!  I love my dishwasher, my washing machine, I love the fridge I put all the Thanksgiving food into last night.  I love my freezer so we can have ice-cream tomorrow.  I love the oven I am going to put in a turkey and all sorts of delicious foods tomorrow.  I love that when I bought that turkey yesterday, it was in a clean bag.  Someone else had incubated the egg, raised, fed, killed, plucked and cleaned the turkey that I bought for $10 at the store.

I am not saying we don't have real problems.  We do. We have all had real problems and we know the difference.  So lets keep it in perspective.  This Thanksgiving lets all remember Darren's simple text.  Most of the time we can say... FWP my friend FWP.