A Poem

If you can look at your toenails and see polish, quit whining!
If you had hot water for your bath tonight, quit whining!
If you HAVE a paycheck that will be .5% of your annual lower for two months, quit whining! In fact, if you have an annual salary of any kind, quit whining!

If you even KNOW what American Idol is, quit whining!
If you have a mortgage, quit whining!
If you are reading this on a computer, quit whining!
If you drove ANY vehicle to work today, quit whining!

If you ate more than a bowl of rice today, quit whining!
If you voted in November, quit whining!
If you can sit in your bathtub and see gold jewelry on your counter, quit whining!

If there is a candle in your house, just for fragrance, quit whining!
If you can read, quit whining!
If you can count your financial losses, quit whining!

If you can turn on a spigot and have clean, potable water, quit whining!
If your back hurts and you can go to a cabinet and CHOOSE whether to take aspirin,
acetamenaphin or ibuprophen to ease the pain, quit whining!
If your back pain is caused by yard-work, water-skiing, motorcycle-riding,
Boat-riding, or lifting weights, quit whining!

If you can cut calories to lose weight to look better, quit whining!
If you have a calendar that tells you how many days until payday, quit whining!
If you’ve ever heard of health insurance, life insurance, or deductibles, quit whining!

If you spoke with anyone today who loves you, quit whining!
If you saw colors, heard music or birds, felt warm or cool, tasted sweet or salty, quit
whining!
If there is a roof over your head and electricity in your home, quit whining!

If you fed your pet or pets today, quit whining!
If you have a toothbrush and toothpaste, quit whining!
If you went to a dentist who filled a tooth today, quit whining!

If anybody “checked in” with you today, quit whining!
If you have eye glasses or contacts in quit whining!
If you didn’t have to ride a bus to work today to earn minimum wage, quit whining!

If the temperature in your home is above 55 degrees and below 100 degrees, quit whining!
If you have both arms and legs, hands and feet, all fingers and toes, quit whining!

If you HAVE a bank account that IS or IS NOT overdrawn, quit whining!
If you cannot name one single person that you know personally who is in prison, quit whining!

If you do not have a yeast infection, malaria, dysentery, whooping cough, diphtheria, quit whining!
If your child is not in drug rehab or the intensive care unit at the hospital, quit whining!
If you have always had access to feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, and soap, quit whining!

If you have televisions that WARN you of threatening weather, quit whining!
If you have ever paid for a manicure, a pedicure, a massage, a hair color, a meal in a nice restaurant, teeth whitener, cosmetic surgery, a tattoo, a bottle of wine, a six-pack of beer, a cup of gourmet coffee, a boat, a vacation home, or a vacation of any kind, quit whining!

If you had a CHOICE about what to wear today, quit whining!
If you have grass to cut and flowers to water, quit whining!
If even one single person said, “I love you” to you today, quit whining!

If you have a coffee-maker, a microwave, an oven, a refrigerator, a toilet, a bathtub or shower, a toaster, a crock-pot, a bed with a mattress, sheets and a pillow, quit whining!
If you have at least one light in every room of your house, quit whining!

If you have ever paid to attend a sports event, a movie, a theatre production, a circus, or a concert, quit whining!
If you have ever paid for chewing gum, a candy bar, cookies, cotton candy, or ice cream, quit whining!

If your parents and your children and grandchildren are alive and reasonably healthy, quit whining!
If your spouse is not currently deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world, quit whining!
If your spouse comes home every night, quit whining!

If anyone smiled at you or made you laugh today, quit whining!
If anyone listened to your whining today, quit whining!

If you think that whining about your life or your situation will do a bit of good, go ahead…WHINE…maybe it will make you feel better!

Or…your energy might be better spent counting your BLESSINGS!