First World Problems

So I hung out yesterday afternoon with my awesomely wonderful, sweet, amazing, brutally honest, terrific friend (who informed me that she’s such a great friend that she knows how to find my blog, so if I talk about her, I have to say lots of nice things).  Lucky for me, I would say nice things about her (because she IS a nice person) even if she didn’t know how to find my blog, which always makes for an easier time writing honestly.  Of course, I always write honestly, but when I’m talking about some people, I can’t say much because the honest truth isn’t very nice.  LOL.  And maybe they have the same problem when they’re talking about me…lol.  Sometimes it’s really hard to be nice…but not today. 

ANYWHOO…so we were talking about our shoes, and drink preferences, and etc. when she started telling me about hearing about this journalist over in a third world country and the problems and things they are facing, and how we are wanting to go on a mission trip to help somewhere in a third world country at some point this year and we started talking about how our problems are REALLY minor in comparison.  I don’t know if this is even an actual term, but…first world problems.  “Oh, my shoe is coming apart and looking worn out….REALLY?”  So I can go to the store and buy multiple new pairs if I want…I am SO blessed.  I bought a fountain drink a few weeks ago that was watered down and tasted nasty…SO?  Some people just want the clean water that was IN that fountain drink because they have to walk miles to get water and then it’s dirty and they have to purify it to drink it…I should not complain. 

Really puts a lot of things in perspective.  I don’t complain a lot, but sometimes just noticing that there’s a slow car holding me up…I just need to stop and appreciate that I have a running vehicle and that I’m ABLE to get behind a slow driver on our smooth (mostly) kept up roads.  And I say mostly, but in comparison to other countries, some of our worst roads are still better.  First world problems! 

My friend is really good at giving me food for thought.   

With all that said, please note that I am not complaining in the next few paragraphs…lol. 

So another thing my friend is really good at is attracting insane drivers…I had my first experience in dialing the highway patrol to report a crazy trucker that was scaring the fire out of us on a major strip of highway.  The dispatcher was really nice, and said she would notify someone in the area to check him out, but right about then, we finally reached our exit so I don’t know if they got him or not.  He was driving too fast for a semi, and passing people in the far right hand lane AND the far left hand lane, and crossing lanes every couple minutes.  For the record, my friend was a cool, calm, and collected driver…haha.  She was speeding (but not TOO much, of course) and this guy was still on top of us, so she let him pass us but then he was weaving over into our lane and we were I was flipping out…I was like, uh, if he wrecks, we have nowhere to go…we are just goners.  I’m not pessimistic at all…but he was a big fella and between him and the concrete wall, well…it would have been over.  So we decided our best bet would be to take the next opportunity and fly past him and try to get away…but then he kept up with us so we made a unanimous decision and I called to report him.  Whew.  Thankful nothing happened though. 

And again…first world problem.  But first world or third world, I can still be thankful.  And I am.