Gas Prices

OK...So we are 1 penny away from the $4 a gallon mark here in middle TN. I have done my share of complaining over the last year. I want to live closer to town (whine), I drive 35-40 minutes for my kids to go to preschool (whine), this house isn't my forever house (more whining), you get the picture. If you don't know, we live in a GREAT house (nicer than anyone needs, really), with an awesome yard, and have great neighbors. It is my choice to send the kids to pre-school where they go. I am so ready to be settled and never pack boxes EVER again. God is continually molding me and helping me to realize what matters. Try to follow me here...

About 2 years ago as I was complaining about wanting granite countertops and leather furniture, I happened to watch a Dateline-ish show and cried through most of it. Kids right her in the good ole USA who would have loved to have my "mediocre" house. At one little boys pre-kindergarten assessment, he couldn't tell the teacher how many meals you eat a day. Not because he couldn't count, but because he didn't have 3 meals a day. Another family ran out of money at the end of the month and had to get restaurant creamers watered down with water to have "milk" for the babies. I vowed then be more thankful for the things I have, rather than focusing on what I don't. I may not have a lot of things, but I have NEVER worried about my children having milk.

Fast forward to now. Gas is going up at about 10 cents a gallon every week. I have not been real happy about it, and it really cuts into the monthly budget. I have whined about it uncontrolably for the past year. Then I started reading blogs. Most of the blogs I read are about Ethiopian adoption. A friend of a friend is adopting from there, and I just link to all her blogs she reads. On occasion these people post videos and article about Africa. Children are sick and dying in Ethiopia from yet another famine and these people have to walk long distances to receive medical care. There is 1 doctor for every 26,000 children. In one story a woman walked 10 km go get her baby medical care. In another, a woman was facing the choice of taking her sick child 30 km for care and leaving her healthy child behind or letting her sick child die so she could stay with the healthy one. Africans walk, on average, 6 miles a day to get water. (Most Americans walk 6 miles a month.) And I complain about gas being $4 a gallon? While I have decided to try and not complain anymore, my eyeballs are probably about to pop out of their sockets as I watch the numbers when I fill up!