I try not to complain. After all, I am incredibly blessed. I have my health, my family and a great job working from home OR out and about, depending on what I feel like doing. I get to buy things on other peoples' dimes, eat extravagent meals that I don't have to pay for, and stay at nice hotels and resorts free of charge. (Still no cruise, though!) So, really, what do I have to complain about?
If something bad would happen and that would be the end of it, I probably wouldn't complain. But it's this snowball effect that's got me singing the blues right now. First of all, I prepared my taxes. That was my first mistake, but it was a necessary evil. I don't know why I expected a refund; perhaps it's those rose-colored glasses everyone says I'm always wearing. Or maybe it was because we got a refund last year. Of course last year, we still had the last of our dependents, and this past year I doubled my editing load which meant double the money with no withholding. Yay. So not only do I have this massive tax bill, but I don't have the refund I thought I was getting in order to pay the massive property tax bill. Yay again. Still, if that was the end of it, I would be smiling.
After I filed my taxes, I got into my car to go run some errands. Turned the key, and nothing happened. Nothing. Nada. Not a click, not a hum. Yay. Still, if it could have been something ultra simple (and inexpensive) like say, the battery, I could still be smiling. But it wasn't, and I waved goodbye to my beloved car as it departed the driveway on the back of a flatbed this morning, headed to the garage for yet unidentified and surely ultra-expensive repairs. Yippee.
Now if that was all that happened, I still might not complain. Well, maybe a little. But not in public. Not a whiny, prolonged, "Woe is me." I mean, really. My life has been going great. The stuff of fairy tales even (almost). So what has got my feathers ruffled? Fleas! Yes, fleas. The bane of my current existence. With five cats, I have managed to avoid fleas for the last ten years. I was so good, so diligent about topical flea solutions and keeping those little buggers out of my house. Unfortunately, time got away from me, and I skipped one measly little month. That, combined with the lack of winter in Florida, was all it took. Now I will be bathing cats, combing cats, vacuuming rugs, washing sheets, blankets, area rugs and more several times a week for who knows how long. Have I mentioned how much I hate housework? Yay.
So yes, woe is me, at least for now. I'm sure "this, too, shall pass," and I was reminded that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound (or a ton) of cure." I'm sure there are countless other proverbs that apply to my situation. That's why the proverbs are there, to teach, instruct, comfort and remind. I get it. So now I'm looking forward to, "All's well that ends well."
