I can get in a funk when I start listing my problems, but given a moment to think about these, I realize that they are not only First World problems, but they are First World/United States/ Western North Carolina specific problems. Some of them can be expanded across the US, but most are limited to just this geographic area. And all of them are pitiful!
I am always cold, so the relapse of our temperature to the 50’s and 60’s bums me out big time. We were so happy when the weather was in the 70’s and even 80, but here we are back in this cold weather again. Boo-hoo. Our weather here is so good! We are even considered an environmental target area for people from other parts of the country trying to relocate. We are not California and the west coast where snow, rain, flooding, fires, and often drought, are commonplace. Also, we don’t really have earthquakes to speak of. We don’t live on the coast where hurricanes and rising ocean levels are serious problems. And our temperatures are mild year round. This winter we had just a few days of really cold weather, and we rarely get extremely hot weather in the summer. People want to move here just for the climate!
Food has gotten so expensive! If you go to the grocery store, you will find that prices on almost everything have gone up! But wait a minute. Our food is actually cheaper than in other parts of the country. Food in Flagstaff is always more expensive than here, but it has gone up so high that my daughter-in-law who lives there says they have had to stop inviting people for dinner. And at least we have food readily available! Think about the people in Ukraine where the war makes finding foods difficult. Western Europe where the war has created problems getting supplies. A friend had to close her grocery store in Germany because of problems created by the war. And Sudan and other parts of Africa where the drought is so bad that people are starving. And let’s not even talk about gas prices! It’s way worse everywhere.
Finding the right food. This is not a problem for me, but lots of people I know have dietary restrictions. Some don’t eat gluten. Some don’t consume dairy products. Some don’t eat sugar. Some have serious food allergies. Some are vegan. Some are Paleo. Some follow Atkins. Some are on intermittent fasting, where they do not eat anything for twelve to sixteen hours a day. People are obsessed with all the things they will not eat and with finding a magic cure for overweight.On the other hand, you don’t see as many overweight people in other parts of the world as we have here, and I have been told that they don’t even have alternative foods like oat milk to cream their coffee in Europe. How do they manage?
When I think about it, I am really fortunate. First of all, I am very healthy and so are all the members of my immediate family. We have roofs over our heads in spite of the glut of Air B&B’s in Black Mountain and Flagstaff. We have jobs and we don’t whine about going to work. We have abundant clean water, and enough food to eat. And so far no one in my family has been killed in a mass shooting. Lucky ducks!
