How Important Is It?
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Recently my daughter-in-law Michiko and my daughter Julie and I reserved a room at a hotel in Los Angeles near the site of my niece’s wedding. We got a great deal (big discount) online and were quite pleased with ourselves–that is until we arrived. The building was in a state of, shall we say, reconstruction. Dumpsters decorated the driveway. Huge wood planks blocked the entrance. Rickety paths led to the temporary registration desk in the rear of the building.
Hmmm! Should we stay or go? Too late to start the process all over. We were due at the dress rehearsal in a couple of hours. We decided to check the room and if it was bearable we’d stay. How important is it anyway? I whispered to myself. We only needed the room for two nights. And surely the workers would not be there over the weekend.
Wrong! The renovation was to be completed by August 1 so the crew was scheduled 24/7 till then! The room was good enough so we decided to stay. We were offered complimentary ear plugs along with a key card. We had a good laugh and settled in. All was well until 5:00 the next morning when the jackhammering began.
The free breakfast consisted of coffee, white bread for toast, and cold cereal. No thanks! We drove to the nearby Starbucks and enjoyed our favorite coffee drinks.
The fiasco is now over and we’re all back home, comfy in our own beds, and enjoying the breakfast of choice in our own kitchens. This experience will make a good ‘story’ when we see each other again and we’ll probably embellish it, as we’re all prone to do, when we share it with friends and family.
But when it comes to the bottom line, I ask again ‘How important is it that we were inconvenienced for a couple of nights?’ I think of people the world over who have no bed, no breakfast, no car, no Starbucks, no friends and in some cases no family.
We are blessed beyond measure and we are all ‘under construction’ one way or another so how fussy dare I be when I live in this land of plenty? How would I sum up this experience? In two words: Thank you!
“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.” Deuteronomy 8:10
I’d say you faced the problem with your usual dignity and grace. Also you’ve proven that we usually “get what we pay for.”
Cheers.
So true. We get what we pay for, but today even the ‘cheapies’ seem expensive to me. Thanks for your compliment.
So many of us are blessed with “creature comforts” that most throughout the world will never have. Thanks for the reminder that little inconveniences don’t matter in the grand scheme of things! we ARE blessed beyond measure! Eucharisteo!
Eucharisteo indeed. Gratitude and joy!
That is a funny story! Although I’m sure at the time it wasn’t. It’s great reminder that we are blessed with many creature comforts here in the US, and to be thankful.
Thanks for your comment, Rebecca. Yes, we are blessed.
Such a great perspective! I am thankful to live in America.
I’m with you on that, Columba. Thanks.
Karen, your making-lemonade spirit is so precious. Counting our blessings is easier said than done. I loved your instantaneous gracious attitude! A great moral lesson for me to learn. (I tend to get upset when even little something goes out of order / unexpected …) Thank you so much, for sharing and modeling. Jing
Thank you, Jing. Let all of us make more lemonade, right? 🙂
GREAT take-away, Karen. We truly are a blessed people who need to look for more to be thankful for. “Whatever is true…noble…right…pure…lovely.. admirable…praiseworthy…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Wonderful verse, Judi. Thanks for posting that reminder.
Love your attitude of sifting through what’s important and what’s not! Thanks for sharing this, Karen.
Nancy, I appreciate your comment. Thank you.
It was an adventure and a source of a great story! But your perspective was the best and such a role model.
Now you are camping in the mountains with other vibrant strong ladies, in sleeping bags and tents. You know how to live! I love you.
Thank you, dear daughter. I love you too, and it was fun sharing the adventure with you–and the ‘life lesson.’
Karen, you are such a great writer. You pulled me in right away. Your experience is a good lesson in our creature comforts. But I’m afraid I probably would tolertate one night but wouldnt have stayed a second night. But that’s just me….
Thank you for making us think about our personal comforts.
roz
Thanks for your kind words, Roz.
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