The land of waste and excess

The new year is upon us and another holiday season has come and gone. I have been camped out at the house for several days now recovering from spending a week with the family and nursing a cold no doubt caught from one of my nieces or nephews. While I go willingly, this annual pilgrimage to my parents house for the holidays has pretty much become mandatory. Last year I managed to limit it to a very short 24 hours thanks to a very sick puppy, but this year no such excuse existed, the puppy is grown and well. So I made the journey, animals in tow, and endured the chaos for a week.

There were eighteen of us, four dogs, and two cats under one roof, and with a crowd of this size, there is never a dull moment. My parents house, while large, was certainly not designed to accommodate this circus. Space is at a premium, and quiet time and a good night's sleep simply need to be checked at the door. My family often suffers from the too many chiefs not enough Indians syndrome and volume control is not generally apparent. A great deal of patience and understanding is required if Christmas cheer is to be preserved. But undoubtedly, patience and tolerance begin to wear thin, and the little idiosyncrasies become harder to ignore.

It's generally at this stage, when I look at the chaos around me and start to notice what I have now dubbed the land of waste and excess. Perhaps it's a function of children who have never had a want for anything or their parents who indulge their every whim, but the more I spend time around it, the more I find something wrong with this picture. Children who receive plenty and always ask for more. Parents who make rules and fail to see them through. Children who disrespect others and their belongings, yet have parents that continue to spoil them.

And yes, I am aware that this is my family I'm talking about. And truly, I feel blessed that I have such a large family and that I do get to spend so much time with them. But, I feel like this situation continues to worsen. Now, maybe it's just the excitement of the holidays and the stress of the living arrangements, that bring out all of these colorful characteristics. Maybe my memory has faded so much, that I don't remember what charming, imperfect children my sisters and I were. Maybe it's the lack of sleep or lack of patience on my behalf. Maybe it's the general shock on my single system to be immersed in such chaos. Or maybe, I am really on to something here.

Now I should be thankful that my family and I enjoy such a comfortable lifestyle and that none of us truly know what it is to be hungry, or homeless, or sick. But in these trying economic times, when so many are struggling, I think it's time to take a step back and evaluate what really matters, to not take our many blessings for granted. I think about everything I throw away, things I buy that go untouched, or the numerous over-indulgences, and I know there is plenty that I can change. In the spirit of the new year, I think it's time to resolve to eliminate the waste and excess in my life and begin to appreciate the true good fortune around me.