The Missing Sock (& Other First World Problems)

One of my socks, the other one is missing.  Photo by J. Berta

Greetings All:

Thanksgiving night I ended up doing folding a bunch of laundry as I watched Green Bay lose a game to Chicago that they should have won.  In the process of watching my favorite pro team go down to defeat, I experienced another disappointment:  A missing sock.

This is not just any sock, but one of my better dress socks.  The kind that go above the calf and don't collapse after having to walk quickly someplace.

Drat.

My friends, I give you a first-world problem.  

Some of us (me, on occasion) bemoan the need for socks outside of athletic pursuits this time of year.  We're talking about December in Iowa folks.  Gone are, except for the most hearty among us, the days of sandals with no socks.  It's cold and it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Yet I cannot help but be pulled back to this issue of a "first world problem."  Sure, it will be cold, bitter even.  However, I have a warm house, a warm car, I work inside and have ample clothes to wear.  Just because I am missing one sock, I think I'll be OK.  

I offer as Exhibit A a photo of my sock drawer...

My sock drawer, photo by J. Berta

Laura Vanderkam is a writer whom I have featured before on this blog.  Her monthly email is something I look forward to reading.  If you'd like to follow her, I have a link to her latest email.  I highly encourage you to check it out as it articulates much clearer what I am trying to say here.  She writes about winter and cold and how a few Norwegians give us an example of how to not just "put up" with winter, but embrace it.  There is one passage that she has that I find particularly insightful:

"But when possible, flipping that mindset switch from enduring to enjoying is both simple and profound. The Norwegian saying that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,” can be understood on many levels."

That is great advice.  It also reinforces my belief that in almost every aspect of my life, I am truly blessed with abundance.  I lack for nothing.  Even in this, the dying days of fall, I have heat, warmth.  Here's a photo of our fireplace, pushing out clean warmth with a backdrop of pretty flames.  

 

So regardless of if I lose a sock, I have plenty more.  Regardless of the cold of winter, I have a home with warmth.  Regardless of a favorite team losing, I have the luxury of being able to exert attention on such a diversion (as opposed to scrounging for food).  I do not have a care in the world.

Epilogue

I found the sock.  It was stuck inside a pair of jeans.  All's well that ends well.  Actually, in my life, all is well regardless of missing socks or other first-world problems.

Be well my friends,
Jeno

Sources:

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d7dfd20be05c3fc05132e7207&id=e8bdb2add2&e=c060214668