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Little inconveniences


I'm from Minnesota, have always lived in Minnesota, and our Minnesotan culture runs deep in me. There's a term "Minnesota nice" which usually means being neighborly to everyone, whether you know them or not, and whether they deserve it or not. But there's another part of Minnesota nice culture that means we aren't allowed to express our annoyance. (The psychological blow back from that is a whole other blog post, ha!).

I started thinking about not expressing annoyance while grocery shopping this morning. There are always a million little inconveniences at the store and I thought, what if I don't just not express my annoyance, but I also don't feel annoyed about these little things? So instead of being annoyed that every kind of meat I need is sold out (thank you lingering effects of pandemic supply chains!), I can look at it as a chance to try some new vegetarian dishes. Instead of being annoyed there is STILL no whole wheat flour available, I can think how happy my kids are that I'm baking white bread (and I'll be honest, I'm enjoying fluffy biscuits and bread, too). Instead of being annoyed that nothing is ringing up quickly at the check out, I can use it as an opportunity to chat with the cashier and see how her day is going (not well- she was having severe back pain at her new job as a cashier and having the chance to talk about it was maybe helpful for her).

So, that's what I'm trying to do this week and the next (and hopefully the next and the next...until it becomes a little more of a habit). Instead of looking at how I'm so inconvenienced or annoyed by something that is pretty minor, think about it in terms of it giving me a new chance to try something else. My dad is famous for saying, "We don't have problems, we have opportunities." So here's looking at new opportunities.

And a fun little theme song about all those little inconveniences. (For the record, I lost my keys in the great unknown five days ago... So if you find them, let me know.)

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