First world “problems” lead to Gratitude

I have recently had this great recognition of how my problems are really just inconveniences yet we often view them as catastrophic. I keep thinking how very first world so many of our problems are.  I have been keenly aware of this lately and it has really helped me to practice an attitude of gratitude (which by the way is the title of a book that has been highly recommended to me, but I have not yet read). Anyhoo, a couple of weeks ago we decided to finally attempt to take on the washer/dryer project.

When my husband owned our home as a rental with a friend, they converted 2/3 of the garage to a bedroom to be able to rent it for more money. The washer and dryer, which had previously been housed in the garage were then moved to a small shed outside on the other side of the wall. It has been in this configuration since we moved in 6 years ago.

Now the weather in Santa Barbara is quite nice, and again, I don’t have much to complain about. But on the topic of inconveniences, it is inconvenient to have to go outside, in the rain, to change a load from the washer to the dryer. It is inconvenient to drop clean clothes on their way to the dryer and have them get dirty in the dust and spider webs that have built up in the shed. It is freaky to go out in the dark to squeeze in that one last load and hope to not be greeted by a black widow on your reach for the pull string to turn on a light.

Since moving in, moving the washer and dryer into the house have been on “the list” (You know the list, the one that gets longer, but never shorter?)  Three weeks ago Roger tore into the wall preparing to reroute the electrical and plumbing to the inside of the house. While working in the washer/dryer shed he noticed the water heater had sprung a leak. Oh joy. So, $600 later, we had to add 'replace the water heater' to the list. Only it got written on the top of the list instead of the bottom.

We ended up having the water shut off for a day. Boy was that a great way to be grateful for fresh clean running water at your fingertips. Each time I reached for the faucet and was reminded it wasn’t working I thanked God for the ease and access we have to clean water. I was mindful of people who have to walk miles each day just to get a bucketful.

My kids needed a bath, so we went to the neighbors and took a quick swim in their pool. We even brought our toothbrushes to be able to brush our teeth in their bathroom. It made me grateful for friends and shared resources. It made me grateful for hot water and the ease with which I receive it. With just a twist of the wrist I can shower in warmth and comfort – every single day! What an amazing gift.

A week and a half later, my husband got the washer and dryer hooked up, inside…I got 5 loads of laundry done in one day. On load number 6 the washer broke. It has been on it’s way out for almost a year, but I have finessed it, and worked it, and stretched it’s life as long as I could. But it is no longer. So, hundreds of dollars later, again, we will have a new washer installed on Saturday. In the last 3 weeks I have had 1 laundry day. The piles have been high around here.

And this makes me grateful. Grateful that I don’t have to wash all of those clothes by hand. Or even sit in a Laundromat for a couple hours with a jar full of quarters. Grateful that we have the resources to buy a new one when the old one doesn’t work. Grateful that in the comfort of my own home, while I get other things on my to do list accomplished, a machine will scrub and rub and soak my family’s clothes clean.

Grateful that these are the “problems” in my life. What a gift to live in the first world and have such minor inconveniences be the things that are my struggles right now. I recognize there are plenty of people in this same first world country that are dealing with much bigger and harder things, I am not trying to minimize that. But the annoyances of a broken washer and water heater in a 3 week time span have made me very aware of the countless blessings I so easily take for granted.