Stop Complaining

Spring is really here, and we are on our way to summer. The lilacs are blooming, the grass is growing, and the water is being sucked from the top of the pool cover. This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. With any change of season, there comes reminiscing-looking back at the last year and the past-remembering the good times and the bad times and moving forward.

I fondly remember time spent with friends and family: graduations, birthday parties, cookouts or barbecues, the Mother's Day Flood, and trips to New york and New Jersey. Reflecting on my last post, I shouldn't have complained about my trip to Myrtle Beach, but rather accepted it for what it was. Two weeks later I can look back and say to myself, the courses were absolutely beautiful, there were some amazing golf shots, there was a lot of laughter, and I was able to golf relatively pain free and live to tell about it. No, it was not as much fun as it could have been, but it was warm and sunny and good to get away.

You see, I really don't have much to complain about these days, really. my very good friend lost her husband two weeks ago-suddenly, and now she is alone. Just like that. "It sucks," she tells me every day. She is moving on-she isn't complaining or feeling sorry for herself. The most she says is, "This sucks-no really, it just sucks." So how can I complain about anything?

All around me friends have parents who are aging and losing their ability to think, reason, and be independent.They are in hospitals, nursing homes, or need constant care. How can I complain about my feisty, chatty mother who is starting to tell me the same stories over and over again, but her ailments consist of an achy joint here or there and she is still going to work every day and getting ready to set up her first laptop?

I certainly cannot complain about my job- I love my job! All of my past experiences have led me to this point in work, and in life. The people I connect with now are directly or indirectly related to my past. It's that karma thing again.

So I cannot complain-really, about anything. If I have a sore back from golfing last night it's because I did not follow the very good advice of my personal trainer-and I did not warm up first. I will pay for that later today at the gym. So stop complaining. Enjoy the lilacs, and the bees, and the growing grass while you reach for your box of Kleenex. Fire up the grill, put on the sunscreen, and sunglasses, and laugh. Remember your friends and family and how lucky you are.