We know to be grateful

But sometimes it doesn't hurt to be reminded. You know how you grumble, usually about little things? Somehow, little things are the most grumbly ones (at least for me).

Ack, I need to buy more toilet paper.

Argh, why must these little girls squeeze toothpaste all over the sink each night (I swear, they must chant "Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze!" to egg each other on...I mean really, how much fun could that be? One time, maybe. But every time? Apparently.)?

Ahhh, who knew that putting dish soap into the dishwasher makes a sudsy mess (everyone knows that one I think...except me. What do I put in the dishwasher? Dishes. What does the soap say right on it? Dishsoap. What went wrong? A lot. I just did not see that one coming. I thought I was being innovative, creative problem solving. No, not problem solving. Not by a long shot.)?

We're all self-absorbed, by necessity. But a quick little step outside this narrow band of vision is a good thing. I took a little walk away from the grumbles last night when I went with some people from the co-op to cook for the families staying at Ronald McDonald House. There is little else like the sight of a bald-headed, ill child to make all trivial complaints fall away with a wee tinge of shame that something like a toothpaste oversqueeze even makes it on to the radar screen in the first place.

Just clean up the toothpaste (again) and be thankful for my good fortune that I can go to that house, cook dinner and come home. To health. Heck, maybe even try an extra squeeze of Colgate myself. It probably is fun. I did fulfill a childhood preoccupation just a couple of days ago and crammed my finger all the way to the bottom of a full Vasoline jar. Also fun.

On the weekend, the girls started up a collection inspired by this blog post (I told you I was all bloggy). They are gathering coins for performing menial tasks around here...there are many little tasks to be performed and someone has to do them...in order to buy a colony of bees from Heifer International. The bees are given to a family in the developing world to supplement their diet and/or income. The girls are enchanted with the idea. Their only disappointment? They don't get to play with bees first.