Today I washed the kitchen floor. It’s my least favorite job. I love to do laundry, I don’t even mind scrubbing toilets, but for some reason I hate doing the kitchen floor. In my financially comfortable days I paid someone to wash my floors but those days are behind me now and I have to do it myself.
As I was on my hands and knees, I started to think of what a first world problem this is. Why am I complaining? Who washes the floors for the woman who used to wash mine? I bet she does it herself, if she isn’t too tired when she comes home after a day of physical labor.
This Valentine’s Day, the day of love, I am not blogging about how much I love my husband or my daughter (unconditionally). Today I am sending my love to those who wish they had first world problems.
To those who are worried that the bombs they hear at night will hit their home or the home of their neighbors, please don’t worry about the dust those bombs leave on your furniture. I will dust my furniture for you.
To those who are digging in the fields, whose hands are calloused from years of hard work, who hope the harvest will feed your family one more season, I will not complain if I break a fingernail. I will send love from the store as I purchase my abundance and I will send food to your family in the ways available to me.
To those who have never been more than a few miles from the place they were born, I will remember how lucky I am to have traveled to so many countries. I will never complain that a flight is delayed or that I have to stay in a different place than I had planned to stay.
To those who will die from curable diseases, who have to walk 20 miles to a doctor, I send my prayers. I will take care of my husband as he goes through cancer treatment and I will not complain about the insurance company or the one hour drive to the hospital.
To those who quit work before they reach puberty to take care of their family, I will not complain about the cost of my daughter’s college education. I will help to foster education in your country.
When I hear someone complaining that one of their rentals is vacant or that the cost of gas for their SUV is creeping up again, I will send love to those who are renting, to those who have no home, and to those with no transportation.
I will turn each first world complaint into a blessing for those who have less, passing the love in the best way that I can. Happy Valentine’s Day.