Tomorrow is a big day for our family. Nearly three weeks ago, all of our belongings were packed up to be moved from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (near Kansas City) to Fort Bliss, Texas (El Paso). So, for the last two and a half weeks, we have lived in a house with no furniture. During this time, we have slept on air mattresses and sat in camping chairs. We bought some lawn furniture along the way and that has helped. Tomorrow, our furniture arrive to our house here at Fort Bliss. It is easy to find ourselves griping about things, but all in all we have learned some pretty good lessons.
One lesson that we have learned and are constant reminding ourselves is that even without much of the comforts we are used to, we are still living in much better circumstances than many of the people around the world. We may gripe about an air mattress, but there are many people sleeping on bamboo mats. We may grip because we don’t have all of the tools to fix a typical homemade dinner, but we are able to cook in doors and not over a fire pit dug into the dirt. We have been reminded to be thankful for what we do have.
Then the other lesson is that we have had the chance to really consider what we really miss from our belongings. What we have missed are the basics: beds and couches.
We could actually do without tables as long as we have a more comfortable place to sit, other than camping chairs. We haven’t necessarily missed the TV or some of the other things. This again makes us be thankful for the extra in our life, but also helps us to consider what do we really need and what would be our life easier if we just did without.
I am excited about the return of our things, but I am also grateful for the chance to learn from this experience.