Well, if you live in the northeast area of the United States, you may be tempted to bitch about the weather lately. I know I sure have,  but I always bitch about the cold weather! I hate it and want to move to a warmer climate as soon as my kids get older. We absolutely got pounded here in Pittsburgh on Friday and many of us lost power for days. Some still don’t have it now and without electricity, don’t have heat either.

We didn’t have it for a few days and had to check in to a hotel on Sunday for one day until the power came back on. Luckily, it came on sometime Monday and we are getting back to  normal life, although it’s now snowing again! On Saturday, we had no power and no heat, but we did have gas logs. Me and Tammy and the kids put a mattress in front of the gas logs in our family room and kind of camped out by candle light. It was actually kind of fun in a weird way. The fun didn’t last too long though, since the house got progressively colder as the time went on and we eventually turned the water off, drained the pipes, and went to a hotel on Sunday.

During the day on Saturday, I spent the day shoveling our driveway and wheel barrowing wood down my mom’s steep driveway for her fireplace. She has a wood burning fireplace, although still doesn’t have electricity, and her pipes froze and burst in her cellar. She is now staying with us until she gets her power back. I checked on my neighbor numerous times, who is 84 and still lives by himself. He had no heat except for a gas stove and was too stubborn to leave his house to come over with us or over to his nephew’s house. It amazes me how different people respond to these circumstances. Some would do anything to get heat and some would do anything to stay in their house.

I heard people in the gym on Monday bitch about their cable being out and bad mouthing the cable company, as if they could control the weather! I know that when stuff like this happens, it’s easy to feel like a victim and say, “Why me?” I am not saying that I didn’t complain about anything, because I did. Especially, the lack of any plow trucks or salt on my street. As much as we all have things that we can complain about, we also have a lot to be thankful for.

Remember someone always has it a little worse than you:

For those without cable or phone. . . be glad you have electricity, some don’t.

Those with out electricity. . . be glad you still have a house that will eventually have it, some don’t.

Those without heat or water. . . be glad that you have your family and your children, some don’t.

Those without a house. . . be glad that you are still alive, some aren’t. Just think of the people in Haiti.

I know that it is hard to look on the bright side of things, when your world is turned upside down, but you should try. Remember all of the good things that we have in our lives. Remember the simple things that we all take for granted each day, but miss so much when we don’t have it. Remember the smiles on your kids faces, or the touch from your spouse that lets you know that you are loved. Remember the wag of your dogs tail, or the purr from your cat. Remember the incredible feeling that you get every spring whenever the trees start to get their first leafs.

Whenever life throws you a curveball and you feel like it is having its way with you, go ahead and bitch. Scream and yell and complain for a while. After you get it all out of your system, be thankful for all of the good that you have in your life. No matter how hard things may get, they are just a small part of your life, so why not dwell on the good instead of the bad. Besides, we have the media that will scare the hell out of us and tell us how bad things are!

Keep your chin up guys, things will get better soon. They always do.