Life is too Precious for all the Drama, People.

Okay. I'm sick of the Comcast story. I feel the need to conclude it quickly...

They came. They didn't show up when they promised. They blamed me. The problem was resolved. I can quit my whining now, at least until my bill comes.

Honestly. Such problems. Poor me - my HD signal is not beautiful. How awful.

Sometimes I stop and listen to myself and I think I'm going to throw up. I mean really. There are people starving in the world, dealing with life-threatening illnesses and war and homelessness, and I spend an entire week bitching about how my cable service provider just doesn't treat me right? Let me tell you something...

Last Friday, I had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. I'd hardly slept all week, what with the tornadoes and dog diarrhea and the traveling to Alabama and back. I dropped everything I picked up. I almost blew up my Mustang. I shattered an ornament in the middle of the Target. Comcast didn't show up when they said they did. I stubbed my toe, I cut myself shaving, I was out of moisturizer, whatever. Everything seemed to be going absolutely wrong. I was tired and cranky and just miserable and fairly certain I was having a neurological crisis.

And I wallowed in it. I rejoiced in it, probably. My martyr syndrome switched into overdrive and I milked it for all it was worth. Do you ever have days like that? I was a wet blanket, man. We were supposed to go to the Christmas parade, but there was no way in hell I was leaving my house, and I coerced Dr. SmartyPants to pick me up some teriyaki chicken on the way home cause I sure wasn't going to cook, either - I figured I'd start a kitchen fire.

Saturday was a little better, but I was already planning all the tweets I could tweet and the posts I could post about my terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day, when I saw Melinda's status update on Facebook...

asking for prayer for my Grandson, Brian. He's been diagnosed with Kawasaki's disease, about to start treatment in the hospital. I've no doubt he'll be fine, prognosis is positive, but please pray.

Suddenly, my Friday seemed pretty darned insignificant to what my sweet little 3 year old great-nephew was going through...what his parents and grandparents and great grandparents and the rest of his family were going through.

And I got a huge dose of perspective.

Who cares if my HD channels aren't beautiful?

My kids are.

Who cares if my Mustang never works again?

My husband has a job.

Who cares if I shattered an ornament into a million pieces in Target?

My family is whole and healthy.

Sometimes I find myself addicted to the little dramas that play out over the course of a normal, average week - those things that set my heart pumping a little harder and raise my temper a little. They keep things interesting and keep life from being too monotonous and boring, but I'd much rather have a boring and monotonous life than to be sitting in a hospital, waiting to hear the prognosis of one of my kids, wouldn't you?

I've seen other bloggers devote particular months to thankfulness (November is great for that, I guess) and grace, and it strikes me that this is the very reason to do that. We (I) tend to focus so much on the negative things that go on around us, those First World problems that keep us so vexed...

• the line at Starbucks was ridiculous! I can't believe I had to go to Panera for my coffee.
• that man completely ruined that scene in Harry Potter by whispering to his wife what was about to happen!
• I've been waiting 3 hours for the repairman, and he still hasn't showed!

When we need to focus on the things that really matter...

• my boy climbed in the bed with me this morning, snuggled up beside me like a baby and went back to sleep.
• my husband fixed the damage I did to my car, without one word of scorn (and I totally deserved scorn.)
• i have food in my pantry, and the mad skilz to cook it.

So. I'm going to end the year right. I'm going to force myself to focus on grace and mercy and thankfulness. And you'll all just have to come along with me, okay?

By the way - Brian is responding very well to his treatment, and is expected to go home within a day or two. Please join us in prayer (if you pray) or in sending good, strong, healing thoughts his way. I know a whole bunch of people in Louisiana who would be thankful for it...