Kinda makes you wonder

So, I was walking home from dropping Jordan off at school today and grumbling (mostly) to myself about having to push the stroller up the icy, slushy hill with aching legs from hockey and yoga. Also grumpy about not having given myself enough time to take a shower and get decent - jam the toque on and go (did I brush my teeth?). I was mid-grumble when Maya asked, "Mommy, why is that lady sitting in the middle of the road in her wheelchair?" I looked up and, sure enough, there was a young woman sitting very close to the intersection in her wheelchair waiting for the bus. The snowbank at the bus stop was HUGE and there was nowhere else for her to wait. We got closer, I said good morning to her, and all I could see was that she was perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed and perfectly cheerful. What on earth could I possibly be grumping about? My sore but working legs? The fact that I have 2 lovely kids? The long slushy hill that I had to walk up? I felt mighty small right then.

Off we went to buy a birthday present for the weekend and a few other groceries. We got to the till and I was again grumbling to myself about the price of groceries and sundry other tidbits that had worked their way into my cart. One aisle over, I heard a woman trying to explain to a small child that there was no money for anything but groceries this month. No money. In fact, she was hoping that there was enough in her account to cover what she was buying at that moment. And I was lamenting the cost of magazines these days. The second reality check of the day.

Why can't we be thankful for what we have right in the moment without having to dwell upon what others are lacking? I find it fascinating that, all too often, we need to find our happiness through someone else's misfortune. If there is a resolution that I should have made, it is to be grateful each and every day that I have a bounty of assets and I should not continue to look elsewhere for a light to shine on them. My health, my family, my friends, my home and the abundance of material things that surround me...how lucky am I? I can't begin to explain.