Thankful(?!) Thursday

For two days I've had a splitting headache and I'm currently battling a painful UTI (I know...TMI.  Sorry.)  Add to that that the kids both have nasty coughs that are keeping everyone from sleeping well at night.  I had to drag them out in the rain after nap to go get medicine for me and all they had was the super expensive mega bottle.  At that point, I would have paid $100 if that's what it cost for the magic drug.  Heck, I would have traded cash for it in a dark alley behind the grocery store with a shady stranger if that's what it took.  We trekked home and they are currently taking the world's longest bath (as I look on from ten feet away, Safety Patrol) because it keeps them both happy and I cannot handle their sibling squabbling right now.  I just can't.  Because also:

• I'm so sore from lifting weights that I can't sit without making old-person moans and groans.

• We've been showering in the spare bedroom for five days because I am too lazy to seal the grout in our shower.  

• David's work load is about to drown both of us.

• It is only March and already the thought of Audrey starting kindergarten gives me stomach pains.

• The stupid cable company messed up our bill...again. 

• I am simultaneously sick and tired of long-distance running and also super sad about the thought of cutting back. 

So, to be perfectly honest, I'm not feeling particularly thankful today.  Except for the fact that I have a blog where I can vent and write whatever I want, whenever I want.  It's your choice whether to read, of course, but today, I'm thankful for a place to get some things off my chest.  So instead of my typical list of five things I'm grateful for, I'm going to write five grievances I have with the world at the moment, varying from extremely minor and inconsequential to huge:

1.  Stupid questions.  Two examples of late:  

Me to the Toys R' Us employee:  "Do you have anymore sizes of shoes in the back?  I'm looking for these in a size 10." 
TRU employee:  "Oh.  Were there not any size 10s back there?"  She waits for a response as I blankly stare at her, swallow every sarcastic word creeping up in my throat, and answer, "No.  There were not."

Me to the Chick-fil-A employee:  "I need two bottles of white milk.  We didn't get them with our order."
CFA employee:  "They weren't in the kids' bags?"  
OH!  Who would've thought to look there?!

2.  Women at the gym who wear complete make-up and have their hair styled for intense cardio workouts at 5:30am.  As I wrote on FB:  I try not to be judgmental of other women's insecurities because goodness knows I have a hundred of my own. That being said, I have to make this PSA - Ladies, please stop coming to crack-of-dawn high-intensity cardio workouts in full hair and makeup. There is no need. Treat yourself and sleep in 30 extra minutes. You are beautiful simply because you showed up and gave it your all. Period.

3.  Racism, especially among Christians.  Having been raised in the south by a generation that was....well...very set in their ways, I admit to having my battles on this topic from time to time.  But the older I get, the more I realize how damaging this is to our culture, our faith, and our children.  I am so glad to be a part of a church that has an eclectic mix of races and walks of life.  Jesus was not white.  Heaven will not be all-white either.  

4.  Tardiness.  I loathe it.  When I am running late, my blood pressure sky-rockets and I can hardly see straight.  When people are late to meet me, it annoys me beyond words.  It's probably my #1 pet peeve.  Stuff happens occasionally, I know, but I seriously lack grace in this area.  Be forewarned. 

5.  Kids without manners.  Last week we were at Catch Air and a kid accidentally tumbled off a bouncy house and knocked the crud out of Luke.  I mean, sent him head-over-heels-couldn't-catch-his-breath spinning.  Then the kid, who was probably 7 or 8, ran off.  And his mother saw the whole thing and didn't budge.  Um, NO.  I picked up Luke and made sure he was okay and then tracked the child down.  I calmly explained to him that when you hurt someone, intentionally or not, that you need to make sure they're okay, help them up, and apologize.  For pete's sake, we teach that to Luke now!  I reiterated my point to his mother, who halfway made him toss a "sorry" our way.  Make no mistake, if you won't raise your kids right, I'll do my part when they hurt my children.  GRRRR.  

So there you have my list.  May it never be said that this blog wasn't real and that this Mama painted too rosy a picture of herself and her life.  Everybody has bad days and grumpy moods, kids.  Even this gal.  Praying for a better day tomorrow...please join me.  The safety of the children depends on it.  Oh, and drop off some chocolate if you have any to spare (are there really people like that?!)