We All Suffer From FWP. Raise Your Awareness!

For the longest time I had no idea that I suffered from FWP. It turns out all these years they've been happening and I was just not informed. So the purpose of this post is to raise everyone's awareness and maybe make this world a better place.

Recently I was riding in a gondola cabin at a ski area and I'm usually quite chatty but today I was listening. So I listened to the other folks in the cabin talk about where else they usually ski. One lady said that they normally ski out west because they own a house out there.

 The other couple riding with us said that her sister owned a slope-side condo here so they frequently skied here but her other sister owned a place out in Colorado but they didn't like to go there as much because it was a couple miles from the mountain, it was not slope-side. At that point I couldn't hold it in any longer and I had to raise awareness of FWP. So as soon as they finished their statement and there was a moment's lull I said "wow, not slope-side? That sounds like a First World Problem to me." There was a little chuckle that went around the cabin. Shortly there after we all disembarked going out separate directions. The rest of the run I pondered what just happened. Seriously? We are all some of the privileged few who can afford to ski and we are complaining about it not being ultra-convenient? Here I was getting all jealous because the other people in the cabin frequently ski out in the Western United States and I'm still one of the privileged who is "skiing the east." I think all of us in the cabin needed a reality check. 

Shortly after that incident something else happened brought me back to reality. We were in the middle of a pretty intense windstorm. I think there was a little snow thrown in but the wind was so forceful this particular night that it felt like we were living a scant 20 feet from railroad tracks with the Amtrack express going by. I was awake at around 11 p.m. when the power flickered. I suspected that it might go out so I quickly plugged my phone into the charger so I would be all set. After all my phone was almost fully charged so I'd be ok. I would have ample means of entertainment tomorrow should the power go out.

 Sure enough around midnight it went out. By 7 a.m. the house was almost at 50 degrees. I was nice and cozy under my wonderful comforter. My sister came in to inform me that she was leaving for work, the kids were still asleep and that it was cold in the house so make sure when they woke up that they stayed in bed until we got the power back on and the house warmed up. I was laying in bed all pleased with myself because I had a fully charged phone. Then I realized my error. I hadn't drawn any water to flush the toilets and now I had to go. I hadn't drawn any water to drink and I was getting thirsty. Living in the north where the electricity frequently goes out my first thought usually is to draw water and get out candles and such. Nope, I had fallen into the self-serving mindset of what mattered most. My smart phone of course. As I lie in bed, thirsty and wondering what I was going to do soon when toilets needed to be flushed, I was reminded of the many people who don't have the luxury of first world problems. Ultimately the kids and I would be fine. If the power was out too long we'd pack up and go to my parents who have a wood stove so they were warm and could cook and melt snow if they had to.

So I started praying for those people who suffer from Third World Problems like not having access to water at all.  Some of them live in climates just as snowy as mine and don't have enough clothes to stay warm and they certainly don't have a nice down-alternative comforter like I do. Some of them don't have a car to travel to their parent's house should things get rough. Nor do they have parents. They died from some illness that would have been curable here in the First World or were caught in some civil war that leaves innocent villages decimated in it's wake. This list goes on and on.

I think if we take a moment to be thankful for what we have and pray for those who don't have a fraction of what we have been blessed with we might be just a bit more grateful. 

So the next time you poor a bowl of cereal and realize that you don't have any milk or your smart phone is being dumb you will be aware that you are suffering from a First World Problem. In my house when someone starts going off on some ridiculously benign issue someone pipes up and says "that's rough! Sounds like a First World Problem to me!" We all have a good laugh and it brings us back to earth a bit. 

Now that you know please do your part in bringing FWP awareness to everyone.