Kkkeeping Thththings in Ppperspective
Something wasn’t right when I woke up this morning. My programmable thermostat is set to drop overnight, but warm up by the time the alarm beeps. It took a few minutes for my sleep-addled brain to figure out that it was still very chilly at 6:30 a.m. With a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach I peeked at the thermostat. Actual temp: 56. Set at: 68.
After I had called my dad for a recommendation and left a message for the heating/cooling company my mom called to check on something else. She was amazed I was in a relatively good mood, joking about my ttteeth chchchattering and being bundled up in my pajamas, my long robe AND my long winter coat and gloves.
I’ll admit having my furnace go out two days before Christmas is inconvenient, but I always try to keep things in perspective. First of all, getting upset isn’t going to change anything or fix it … period. Second, it could have been ON Christmas. Third, (knock on wood) this is my first major house issue in the five years I’ve lived here. Finally, when it was so bitterly cold Sunday evening (single digits; negative wind chill), all I could think about were people without a place to live. At the time, I’d been running from Target to my car and knew I had absolutely no business complaining about being cold for a few seconds while they were likely fighting to stay warm for the night. I feel much the same way now … at least I have a home and loving friends and family who would be there to lend a hand (in fact, several have already offered in the short amount of time this morning).
That’s definitely more than enough to be grateful for and in a good mood about.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Nice post. I had a “keeping things in perspective” kind of moment about 10 days ago when I totaled my minivan, so I know what you mean.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
We actually DID have the furnace go out on Christmas day some years ago. A call to the furnace technician insured there’d be someone there the next day, but it was pretty embarrassing. Thank goodness for the fireplace in the family room!
After all our guests had left, we pulled out every blanket we had and distributed them among the beds. I think I went to bed wearing three layers of clothes, and put on a couple more when I got out of bed the next day. After the furnace was fixed, I gradually peeled layers of clothes off over the next couple of hours as the temperature warmed back up.