Thankfulness

Elijah and I took a quick weekend trip to WI for my aunts wedding. I am photographing the occasion, and when I said I would possibly come alone, grandma and grandpa just wouldn't have it :) So I brought the less high maintenance one along with me.

Our plane ride was short and super easy with a three year old (almost). He LOVES airplanes. He was a bit concerned when we touched down. He glanced over at me and asked, "We crashed?" Ha. What a cutie.

Elijah is thoroughly entertained by grandpa and his trains. It's a bit of a vacation for me. All I have to do is help him eat, sleep and sometimes stop to use the bathroom. Other than that I hardly see the kid.

I love that my mom has a laptop I can use. At times I regret not buying a one. Whenever I am on a laptop I feel more inspired to write, usually because I'm sitting somewhere comfy :) Or I can take it to a coffee shop or somewhere peaceful and think. Oh well. Maybe I should just journal more...same idea, less distractions.

I was not looking forward to coming to a place where the political discussions are everywhere. I'm sort of removed from the happenings in Madison (everywhere?) but being in WI brings me up to date on all of that.

I don't tend to lean one way or the other on political issues. I tend to agree with conservatives on some issues, and liberals on others. I have many close relatives, friends, etc who are teachers who this bill affects greatly, and on the other hand I have my relatives and friends who feel strongly that this bill is much needed.

I get frustrated when I see facebook statuses and hear conversations where people are so worked up over it. Nobody can come to a good middle ground...there's no compromising. I don't need to share my opinion on what I actually think about Scott Walkers budget bill, but it makes me really sad to watch local news stations (in Lancaster) that show the capitol building and the protesting going on, right after they show the events in Egypt and Libya.

I think we Americans (me included), easily forget how blessed and fortunate we are as a nation. I did a survey a few weeks back, that simply asked our annual income (http://whoarethejoneses.org/). When I typed it in, the results were graphed on a simple photo that said, "You are wealthier than 80% of the world." Yikes. We are not wealthy in our society...not even close.

But, despite it's flaws and corruption, we have access to REALLY great health care. We have jobs that put not only food on the table and clothes on our back, but beautiful homes, cars, and whatever else we fill those homes with. We so easily take for granted something as simple as clean drinking water.

Teachers. We have great public schools with great teachers who are educating the next generation. I do not take their job lightly (and no offense, it's not one that I particularly would be interested in taking on! ha!). It's a hard job. I had many wonderful teachers growing up, and am related to many amazing educators as well. I will never say that they shouldn't be paid well for what they do.

I hate that our government can't seem to spend money wisely. You'd think that they would have understood a budget by now, and that money doesn't "grow on trees." I also think we are somewhat to blame...but I won't go too much into that. We like convenience in this nation, and that comes with a price.

I also know that in our home, when we don't stick to our budget and go into debt, we have to repay it. It isn't enjoyable to cut back on the fun things, but we have to in order to improve our spending habits. It is so unfortunate that we (taxpayers) have to help with that debt. But it's how the system works.

This whole government system needs refined...no doubt about it. But even as I type this I feel like I've wasted time focusing on something that will seem so minuscule when we see the big picture. I so badly desire to have a strong world view, and to remember to put things into perspective.

We as Americans feel like we need to have a certain standard of life, because that's all we know. It's not easy to try to go against the grain of modern society. I have to remind myself daily that my ugly couch truly doesn't matter. I have to get over the feeling that I somehow deserve nice things, because those around me have nice things. Yuck. They are all things we will only enjoy on this earth. I want to raise kids who care more about loving people and everyone they come in contact with, and not think twice about the condition of their home, clothes, how many toys they have, or what kind of tv they watch their movies on.

It's hard to do when I feel like a certain "right" of mine is being taken away though. It's really hard. But I am thankful that I have healthy kids, more food than I can eat, and a sturdy house to raise a family in.

My prayer for this state and all the people in it is that they treasure the things in their life that really matter, and try to trust those in authority. I'm not saying I feel like what is happening is right or wrong...please don't take it that way...I just feel like everyone should be grateful that they have jobs that pay well (or very well compared to the rest of the world) and focus on what truly matters in life.

That was a bit longer of a blog post than I meant to sit down and type. Darn laptops do that to me every time. I hope to write a little more this weekend. This was slightly my scattered thoughts. I've had a lot on my mind!