On whining

A friend posted a blog entry that she characterized as being whiny.

I was just going to post a comment to her, but what I have to say may be kind of long.

You see, I am a whiner. I have a daughter with somewhat significant health issues. I whine and whine about how unfair it is to me as a "full time working outside the home mom" that I also have to deal with the extra time it takes to have a "special" daughter. Extra doctors' appointments. Extra medications that cost extra money. Extra meetings at school. Extra struggles with homework. Struggling with things most parents don't have to deal with. Having to give her a shot every night. I whine about how unfair it is to her that she has to work so hard to so some things that are so simple for most of us.

Those of you who have "normal" kids (as I would call them), might not see my complaints as whining. You might think, "You have a right to be angry!", "You did have bad luck in getting a special child." "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."



Then I go to Children's Hospital for an appointment. I see kids who have had open heart surgeries. I see kids who will never walk or have control of bodily functions. I see kids who may not live another year. Then I wonder why I was whining. Who gave me the right to whine when so many other parents have tougher issues? I have a job. I have health insurance. I have a spouse who really helps out more than 50-50 in getting issues resolved. I have a car to get to appointments.


It's all relative. To some, our venting will seem like whining, to others it is fully justified. If we heard Paris Hilton complaining about not being able to find the right shade of pink for a purse to match her gazillion dollar outfit, we would call it whining. To those in her social circle, not finding the right color purse seems a valid thing to gripe about.


Oh...I've made my point. As long as you keep your whining in perspective, an occasional vent is ok. And keep in mind who you are whining to. (that should be "to whom you are whining"... but proper English just doesn't seem proper with the word whine.)

And remember to be grateful.