Yesterday I was angry. I was angrier than I have been in quite some time. I truly feel like it takes a lot to get me upset like that, but when I get that way, watch out. Just ask my parents or my husband. I'm pretty sure my dad even told Cody before he married me that he had yet to see me truly mad and to get ready for it.
I'm not proud of it, but it's something inside of me that I have to keep fighting.
Thank goodness for a great best friend/accountability partner that helped me through most of it yesterday. ;)
You see, we had a pretty nasty ice storm here in North Texas starting Thursday night. We all knew it was coming and my husband, who works for the power company, was already starting to put in long hours at work. They were all gearing up for the massive power outages that were expected. They were right - at one point I think there were 276,000 without power in North Texas alone. My husband was literally working around the clock, and at one point worked 33 hours before finally getting some sleep. Yes, they are supposed to have breaks, but it doesn't happen like it should - especially when you're higher up in the company.
Then the negative posts on Facebook started showing up - everything from calling Oncor lazy, saying how horrible they were, how unreliable they were, and as one person so eloquently put it, "Oncor sucks." Each comment made me angrier and angrier. I finally commented on one post (like my husband had asked me NOT to do) and put a status update of my own defending Oncor and the workers.
What I found was lots of support, but then people attacking the very people I was speaking against. That's when I knew what I did was wrong. I was no better than them complaining at that point. I was doing the exact same thing, but I felt entitled to it. I was defending my husband in my mind. But when I truly stopped to think about it, I knew it was wrong and I took both my post and status down. That's not the kind of example I want to be to my daughter. I can't very well teach her to ignore comments if I can't do the same.
What is it about people today that makes them feel so entitled? Is it the instant gratification society we live in now? We all feel like we are the center of the universe and that everyone else should be serving us. Forget that a power company called guys in from their vacations in Kansas (that happened to a guy at my husband's office), forget that there are workers driving on the VERY dangerous roads, forget that there are linemen working out in the elements, forget all that, because my goodness I DESERVE to have my power turned back on right now!
I wish I could say that I went to bed with a happy heart yesterday, but I didn't. I was still so very upset and actually very disappointed in myself for letting someone have that my control over my feelings. My husband was having to sleep at his office again and when I did have a few minutes to talk to him I could tell he was very stressed...and exhausted. It broke my heart. Meanwhile, those that were complaining were with their families and not working...just complaining. I even saw someone post something along the lines of, "Are the Oncor workers going to come put up our Christmas lights and drink the hot chocolate we should be drinking right now?" Really??? Guess what buddy? They aren't doing those things with their families either!
This morning I told myself (and a very good friend) that I just needed to stay off Facebook and ignore the people that were complaining. But again I didn't want let someone else's actions have control over me so I got on Facebook anyway.
I'm so glad I did.
One of my college professors posted that she had made 17 pancakes this morning and only got to eat one. Complaining? Nope. After that she said - thankful for growing boys!
Perspective my friends, perspective.
She didn't feel entitled to what she had worked for. She was joyful because of what she was able to give. She was thankful for what she had - not complaining about what she didn't have.
I needed this so much today.
She reminded me that we need to all stop feeling so entitled and count our blessings instead.
Yes, you might not have power in your house, but friend, you have a house. You have your family. You have kids! There are people out there they have none of those things! There are people in this world that don't know where their next meal is coming from and here we are complaining about losing a little bit of food from our fridge that we can easily replace later. I'm complaining about my husband not being home and there are military families that go months, and even years without seeing their family members.
Perspective.
So often we forget about our blessings. We forget that all the other days of the year we do have power. We forget the workers that make that possible. We forget that when our kids are driving us crazy that we are able to be parents while others are yearning for that very blessing.
I forget that others have to be away from their families when the weather is good for their jobs - car salesmen, retail, etc.
Shame on me.
It's a lot like how we forget all the good things God does for us on a daily basis. We forget that He woke us up this morning, yet we will be the first ones to ask why He lets something bad happen. We question things like why does my father-in-law have cancer, but think nothing of my second niece being born.
We all are so selfish - so self absorbed - so "me centered."
Someone else of Facebook posted this and I found so much truth in it. Let us all remember that there are others out there - some struggling, some that are better off than us, but we're all here friends. Let's try to all live together with a little be more compassion and empathy.
1 comment:
love this post, heather!!
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