My nature yearns for balance. I’m lousy at stability but I crave the calm that walking the straight and narrow provides. A regular schedule, consistent tasks at hand, and an absence of chaos appeal to the need for security which defines my existence.
When my life seems destined to see-saw, I go trolling for good news.
I’m not wandering through the memes about the lottery winners. I want to posts from my friends having breakfast in bed made by their adorable children. I look for pictures of sunrises taken from decks in Olathe or up in the Northland, near the river or just off I-29 with a city-scape looming behind the dawn. I don’t need Paris, or London, or Geneva. Parkville will do.
Forget the killing in the stock exchange. I want stories of a daughter’s new job, a son’s short story being published, or finding a twenty-dollar bill on the sidewalk. You can easily please me with snapshots of your dog sniffing the neighbor’s tree from the end of the leash that you juggle with a Starbucks coffee. An account of your chance encounter with your high school sweetheart makes my day. While I peer at the blurry screen through my old glasses, please send me 140 words about discovering the crisp new world after cataract surgery.
I’d like to leave my worries on a shelf while I luxuriate in the bounty of your life. I’ll tackle my dishes, fret over bills, and haul laundry in due course. For a little while, let me vicariously enjoy a little cheerful expression of somebody else’s good news. I promise to be glad for you. I vow not to envy your good fortune.
It’s the twentieth day of the forty-third month of My Year Without Complaining. Life continues.