One of my favorite sets of books is the Mitford series by Jan Karon. These are sweet, lovely books about this great town called Mitford, and the live of Father Tim Kavanagh. Cynthia, who lives next door (no spoilers here!) has a habit of saying "I love _______ or ___________." Father Tim likes to ask her "What don't you love?" Since I don't have a sweet neighbor to ask me, I'll just share them anyway! I kind of think of these like a continuum. One on end is things I love; the other is things I hate. These things are on the "things I hate end."
1. The little toothpaste dribbles I get on myself while I brush my teeth. They never come off, until I really wash the top. Just wiping it with a washcloth doesn't get it off and I'm not sure why.
2. Shaving my legs in the winter time. I hate to shave when it's cold. It just makes my skin dry and itchy. This may be awfully close to the "hate it "section.
3. The weird pain I get in my back when I sit with nothing behind me, with my legs crossed. It's always in the same spot, and I can't reach it.
4. Being the "poor sister" when I am with my sisters. The really stinky thing is that both my sisters are single moms, and I'm still the poor one.
5. When my neighbors play music so loud, I can hear it in my living room. This drives me crazy.
6. When chocolate melts, and then hardens again, so it turns white on the edges.
7. When my phone rings and it says "unknown name, unknown number." I don't answer, but I hate it when it rings.
8. When my life is so crazy, I can't get my sister's birthday present ready in time and miss Mr. Al's birthday by more than a week.
9. When something takes a whole lot longer than it should, because someone else doesn't do his or her job properly.
10. Coughing so hard, I almost wet my pants. Laughing so hard I almost wet my pants is something altogether different.
11. Leaving school feeling like I'm a failure as a teacher.
There you have it. My list of things that today, I don't love. Of course, this list is subject to change, depending on the day, or my mood. I try to remember, that things always could be worse. For example, I could be hiding in a tunnel while the Nazis drop bombs on my city, and I could be homeless or jobless or an orphan. I know that in my head, but my heart sometimes gets caught up in the mess of my life.
