Little Things

     This was written on 28 June 2010.
  
      It has been a month since I have been back in San Antonio. I am staying with a friend of mine in a pretty decent house. However, her house has NO A/C!! She rents and when I first got to her place, I was wondering to myself, “What kind of landlord rents a house with no air conditioning?” This house isn’t even equipped with fans. Who does that? For anyone who hasn’t been to San Antonio, Texas, it is F—KING HOT during the summer months. Two summers ago, it was so hot that there was one month of 100 degree days. Being in any building without adequate ventilation is akin to being in an oven.


     And yet, she stays there, with a box fan in one room, with her little boy. So I asked her why. Her answer was that when she left her last apartment, she needed something in a hurry and this was the only thing available for her.With the financial situation she was in, at the time, it was a struggle and she had to take what she could get. She is in a sitution where she is not getting any financial support from the father of her children and it is really difficult for her to keep things together. Hence, she was lass concerened about AC and more concerned about keeping a roof over her kids head.


     It gives you insight into things that you should be grateful for. Little things. Like AC. And this is kind of a metaphor for life. Sometimes we get caught up in the day to day of things and how much our lives may or may not suck and we don’t take stock of things that we do have. I bitch about my friend not having AC. She is more concerned about keeping a roof over her head. And I am lucky to go to college and have grants and financial aid, even if I am staying in a dorm. Even with no job at college, I am lucky to have what I have been given.

     But still, her house is f—king hot!!!!