Scapegoat

Wanted:  One large scapegoat upon which I can lay blame for everything that’s gone wrong in my world.  Must not use logic to refute irrational claims or shy away from unwarranted or undeserved crankiness.  Must be in agreement that everything is his/her fault regardless of irrefutable evidence to the contrary.

A few years ago, when life would get stressful, one of my good friends used to quote Katie from the Horton Hears a Who movie, who said, “In my world everyone is a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies.”  After a while, we’d only have to say, “In my world,” and we’d both start laughing and could put things back into perspective.

That’s how I would like my world to be – all good and happy and beautiful with no sickness or poverty or pain or suffering or loss or grief or loneliness or addiction or hatred.  A world where everybody loves everybody.

Alas, this world is broken and it’s people are hurting. Sometimes I’m one of them, and I don’t care for it, not one little bit.  It’s not always easy to see the beauty in the brokenness.   Sometimes I want to lash out at others because in the moment I somehow believe it will make me feel better.  But it doesn’t, it only makes me feel worse. 

In my world, my real world, everyone is a child of God and is deserving of love, respect, and forgiveness.  As I quietly pray those words, I’m grateful for the reminder that this is true for me as well.

Love Respect Forgiveness

Plans

While typically I plan in advance what I’m going to write about and post regularly, you may have noticed that things have been rather quiet here lately at Naked on the Tundra.  It wasn’t an intentional hiatus, rather, it was a series of events that resulted in me spending time doing a lot of things other than writing.

My plan was to write about:

Thanksgiving and everything for which I am grateful

The amount of money we spend on our Thanksgiving meal

The amount of money we spend on Christmas

The reasons that I don’t shop on Black Friday

Instead, I had the opportunity while driving from Nashville to Michigan to experience firsthand the first big snow storm of the season, the opportunity to visit my twelve-year-old niece who was spending time in DeVos Children’s Hospital along with my younger sister, brother-in-law and fourteen-year-old niece, the opportunity to see my parents and older sister who were also visiting my niece, watch my grandkids while their parents took one of them to urgent care to get a stitch, have my email account hacked, my credit card number stolen, and catch a cold.

First Snow November 2015

Even though it wasn’t fun to drive in, it sure was pretty!

For the past week, being a conscious consumer has gone completely out the window.  When I needed gas, I didn’t care that Speedway has a D+ rating because it was on my way to the hospital and I chose convenience over conscience.  When my niece, who’d barely eaten for four days, said she wanted a turkey on Italian with mayo from Subway, I didn’t say, gosh, you know Subway has a C- rating and I’m really trying to stick with places with a B+ or better rating could you pick something else?  No, I drove straight there, ordered it up with no hesitation, and happily plunked down my cash.  When I couldn’t get all my Thanksgiving items purchased prior to the big day, I went to D rated Meijer on Thanksgiving morning and picked them up. 

Plans are great, but they don’t always line up with reality. In truth, I can’t really say that anything for the past week has turned out quite like I anticipated. If I’ve learned anything in the past fifty odd years, it’s that I can get upset and flip out about things, or I can take them in stride and try to find something positive in all of it.

I’m grateful that I was able to drive through eight to twelve inches of snow in southeastern Michigan without incident despite less than ideal conditions.  It’s very distressing that my niece was so sick, but I’m grateful I was able in a few small ways to help her and my sister out during their unexpected stay in Grand Rapids. I’m grateful my parents and sister drove over so I could see them before the holiday.  I’m grateful that I was here to watch the grandkids so they all didn’t have to go to urgent care when one needed a stitch.  The email and credit card issues are a hassle, but are insignificant in the grand scheme of life.  I’m grateful that there are so many people in my life praying for me and my family – I’m not sure how people get through things without that kind of support.

I’m still trying to find the silver lining in getting a cold, but so far I’m coming up with nothing.  If you can find one, be sure to let me know by leaving a comment.  What do you do when life doesn’t go as you plan? 

Man plans and God laughs.

Yiddish Proverb

Seductive Sirius

On January 5, 2015, I posted this on my Facebook page:

Ah, Sirius, how I have loved you! We have traveled many miles together and I have enjoyed your company immensely, your commercial free programming, your myriad of stations to choose from, the way you are always there for me even when I’m driving through remote places. But today’s topic is entitlement. I really, really tried to justify my NEED for satellite radio. I travel a lot. It’s commercial free. I listen to Christian music on The Message. But truly, there’s no way I can justify $200+ a year. Sure, I was given the option to change to a more affordable subscription and I really wanted it. But I stood fast on my decision and kept saying no thank you. And for the price I pay for my semi-annual subscription, I can support several of my favorite artists by buying their albums.

Sirius has been very diligent in contacting me every few weeks to let me know about their latest and greatest offer to win me back.  Typically their flyers go into the shredder and their emails into my trashcan, but this week, well, this week they came out with something fabulous.  The letter was titled Enjoy Thanksgiving with a Free Listening Event!  From November 19 – December 2, they are turning my Sirius radio back on – and I can listen for free! The fine print said that all I need to do is go to sirusxm.com/listen1 to learn more.  No commitment is necessary!  If I do want to continue my subscription, it will only be $20 for the first five months.  What a fantastic offer!  I actually considered it for about twenty-four hours.

Sirius

In the end, I’ve decided I’m going to pass.  While I do enjoy commercial free music, at the end of the day, I still can’t justify it.  It’s also possible that as a big corporation Sirius XM Radio, Inc., might not be one I want to patronize. Unfortunately, there’s not enough information available about them (other than financial) for me to make an informed decision so I will have to let this offer pass me by.

Are you ever tempted by clever advertising?  What offers are hard for you to refuse?