Last night I started feeling anxious about my previous post.
First of all, the title is one of the worst I've created.
Second, I worried what people would hate me for my whines about being mild. Well, because I'm insecure like that. I want to be one of those people who don't give a crap what people think. I TRY to be that person, but my attempts rarely result in a success.
Third, I worried the universe would hate me and punish me by taking away my mild problems and giving me severe ones instead. Although the universe is cruel. It would probably have me keep my mild problems; then add on some moderate and severe ones as well.
I don't want severe problems. Some I might not mind so much. Others scare me shitless. Like after writing the post, I read about the family who lost their child to flesh-eating bacteria. It's so sad and scary. I definitely don't want to ever have to endure what that family is enduring.
But anyway....
I think what I do want, for both me and other people, is the ability to talk about mild and moderate problems without feeling we're stealing the limelight away from those with severe problems.
I want people to be able to complain about a power outage at Disneyland without being scolded and reminded that people in Puerto Rico haven't had power in months. Now, of course, if the Disney complainers are rude and obnoxious about it, they should be scolded and reminded. But if they're just complaining about their bad day, let them. Yes, there are those who have it much worse. There are also people who have it much better—people who go to Disneyland when it's less crowded; it's less hot; and most of the rides are working.
We're going to Disney World very soon. If one of us gets sick during our vacation, I shall be unhappy about that. Even if it's a small cold, I'll be a bit bummed. That doesn't mean I think our problems are equal to the family who lost their son to flesh-eating bacteria. It doesn't mean I don't care about those who are less fortunate than us. It doesn't mean I don't understand that things could be a lot worse for us. The thing is, I can feel annoyance, snottiness, gratitude, sympathy, and disappointment all at the same time. It's called multitasking.