Sunday, May 16

the best things in life are free...

but sometimes the free things in life aren't always the best. (you saw that one coming, right?)
we're "basic cable" type people. to be honest, this is mostly because it's cheaper! but also because we don't feel the need to have 5 bagillion channels that will only serve to clutter our lives with even more unproductiveness. we do well enough with that on our own! all that being said, we now have digital cable (including on demand). why? because it was free. we've had multiple issues with our internet not working lately. i call every time and they fix the problem pretty quickly but it's still slightly inconvenient. last thursday, after spending about 15 minutes on the phone getting the issue resolved, the customer service lady offered to upgrade our cable. for free. as a courtesy. absolutely, no strings attached, free. so i said, "well, since it's free...sure." why? because we have to take advantage of the free things. life isn't always handed to us on a silver platter so we should take that platter every opportunity we get, right? and, of course, be grateful...right? (please not the sarcasm.)
well, needless to say, we've spent a lot more time with the "boob tube" (in the slang american or canadian sense of the phrase) on. i don't like it. i wish i had had the guts to say no to the marketing ploy i succumbed to. discipline is, unfortunately, not one of my strengths...i'll be the first to admit that. and so digital cable now gives me one more challenge in my attempts to celebrate discipline in my life! great. way to go me!


however, there are lots of times that i'm reminded that the best things in life really are free...in a good way. take tonight for instance. i was putting jonah, my almost 4 year old, to bed. he's had a fever since yesterday morning and has obviously not been feeling well. as we finished our bedtime story i said, "okay. it's time to say night night prayers". at this point, he usually says, "you do it". but tonight, he started right in with this: "dear jesus, thank you for this day. thank you that i had a really good day today"...something about it still being saturday because he's sick (he doesn't always make sense!)..."since i'm sick i have to go to the doctor tomorrow and i'm scared of the doctor."...long pause..."so, be with me so i won't be scared of the doctor. we love you, jesus. amen." i literally had to hold back the tears. what a simple, honest and humble prayer. sometimes i wonder if jonah is teaching me more about life than i'm teaching him. in any case, i got a free lesson tonight. and from a great teacher, too!

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