On the verge of a Crazy Ivan

There are a few things that really irk me... or get my chonies in a wad... or whatever expression you'd like to use. The list is short, but these things never fail. This list includes, but is not limited to (depending on the day), the following: 

• Bird poop on a newly washed car
• Finding out there are tiny bacon pieces in salads I'm attempting to eat but can't thanks to the bacon
• When sound fails on Netflix
• While we're on that topic... unexpectedly reaching the end of a series on Netflix when you thought you still had a few episodes left
• Getting almost all the way to work before realizing I forgot something
• When the bottoms of cups or bowls are indented and you splash water all over the other dried dishes when taking it out of the dishwasher
• Missing tupperware lids
• My need to check that the door is locked at least three times before I go to bed at night
• When animals, dogs in particular, are treated poorly

and last but not least, because these are in no particular order... 

• When other people talk about their lives as if their load is the heaviest to bear, and you don't know what it's like to work as hard.  

I realize these are all really first world problems, and I probably sound like I'd have a Venti soy something or other Starbucks cup burning my hand on top of all of this as well right now. Please note that this is not the case... because it's 10pm and I don't drink coffee this late... But tomorrow morning I do in fact have to change up my coffee with soy milk due to some recent changes. 

I feel the need to just vent tonight to be honest, so thank you in advance for watching these words spill out onto this blog in my frustration. 

Let's be honest- sometimes we all get caught up in life and have tunnel vision, seeing only what we have going on with work and family and home, paying little regard to what the rest of the world is up to. Due to this, these are the times when we tend to see the rough moments harder than anyone else's rough patches, and treat them as such. Sometimes we think that nobody else could possibly understand the insurmountable pile of crap we trudge to the top of every day, only to roll off it when we clock out and have to tackle it again the next day. We forget that other people have issues. We forget that we never truly know the battles other people are fighting, and assume things based off the external factors: refer back to the assumption of my holding a Starbucks coffee.

I'm absolutely a culprit of this. I've caught myself feeling like other people's crap and hardships aren't nearly as intense or heavy or important as mine. It's a temporary thought, because every time I catch myself almost immediately (thanks to growing up with "Catholic Guilt"). Tables have been turned recently, and I feel like I have to keep reminding some people that their troubles, misfortunes, adversities, whatever they may be, are legitimate, but that does not mean they are more important than mine. They don't make the way I feel and what I have to deal with on a daily basis any less valid or warranted. I work 40+ hour work weeks, too. I pay rent and take care of bills, too. I clean the house, help my parents, help my friends, run errands, clean the bathroom, do laundry, empty the dishwasher, cook, take my dog for runs, just like everyone else. On top of that, there are additional issues that have more gravity, like my work environment situation, or how my mom is fed up with my dad, or how some nights I just stay awake trying to figure out how to stop crying. 

Those things don't hold less value than your things. They're equal, just different.