The Grateful Gene

I am feeling a tad bit sorry for myself just now. I have more hours of work than I have hours available, at least it feels that way. I have often thought that weekends are when you get 2 days to do everything you didn't get done in the previous 5.

John, and with his girlfriend/significant other Carley, were going to move from Vancouver to small town Saskatchewan. Carley was going to set up a catering business sort of thing doing box lunches for the rig pigs (oil rig workers) and they were going to live at her parents' place for a while until they could find somewhere to buy. They headed through Calgary the weekend before Mel's accident so it is only almost 2 weeks ago, but it feels likes months or year! Anyway, there was a breakdown in communication and Carley's parents said they couldn't stay there so they went into Regina first then Saskatoon and now they are looking at houses there. They are planning to put in an offer today then head to Calgary tomorrow to stay with us for a week or two or more, until they can get possession of something. I can't believe the house prices in Saskatoon! They have been planning this since before Christmas so I don't know what happened.

I only found out last night that this was the game plan when David was over and John text-messaged him that they would be here either today or tomorrow. I got Steve to call John and clarify this and sure enough, that is the plan.

The spare bedroom, that has a very generous collection of everything in it, HAS to be cleared out and because we had snow and rain last weekend, the yard needs to be done, there is laundry and the list goes on. James decided to clear his closet, partly so we could move stuff from the spare room to John's room, and I now have 4 big garbage bags of clothes so I have to call the Diabetes Society tomorrow for a pickup.

In a roundabout way, this is leading to the title of this entry - I had an aunt, who incidentally made the world's best Ukranian cabbage rolls, used to "Why does everything happen to me". My mom would sometimes reply "So, who do you think it should happen to?"

I know that many people are familiar with the expression "God doesn't give us more than we can handle". I heard a follow up - I have seen it attributed to Mother Teresa so I feel rather guilty using it but some days.... "I just wish He didn't trust me so much".

I am grateful I have a good life, overall. I live in a wonderful country where I have the freedom to complain, I have a good husband (not a healthy one but a good one), 4 moderately healthy children (if we discount broken arms, one who is unemployed and one who is searching for a house in city he doesn't know), my Mom is still alive (not really well but she is still fairly competant), a job that I usually love and my own health. When I think of all the people who can't say the same, I am grateful, it is just sometimes too easy to fret and complain instead of exercising my grateful gene.