These Aren't Tears Of Joy

 So, my go-to lunch for several years has been an egg.  With toast and fruit.  (I love eggs and will eat them any time of day except morning, my stomach rebels against morning eggs, that's something I have zero control over.) And often some form of veggie.  I try really hard to eat (and be) healthy.

Eggs have long been a staple of our diets:  high quality protein, good for you and fairly cheap.  We always have eggs in the fridge.

Last night, stopped at the grocery.  The shelf for eggs that were $5.29 / doz was completely bare.  The shelves with the $10.99 / doz (the organic farm-whatever) eggs were half bare.  The only shelf with quite a few dozen eggs was marked $7.49 / doz for large eggs.  Those were the Food Club brand (the one that replaced Western Family a few years ago - the lower priced option for brand name goods).   Since the price under the extra large was marked the same as the regular large eggs, I figured I'd get more value for the same money and get the extra large eggs.  They rang up as $8.29.  That's almost 70 cents per egg (more if you add in the blasted taxes).  Only about a year and a half ago I was spending roughly $2 / doz (or even less!) for eggs.  That's an astronomical increase.  And yeah, I read the news and hear what's going on.  But seriously.  I'm still in sticker shock.  There were several of us standing by the eggs trying to decide whether we were going to spend that much for them, one younger guy said "I think I'll go buy some chickens!"  We were all just stunned. 

Even $4 for a head - that had already had about half the limp leaves trimmed off - of lettuce leaves me reeling. So yeah, tears of concern and frustration.

Now, I could have waited.  Driven to another store (spent more money in gas).  I might possibly have spent less.  But I don't like to make a fuss.  (Except to my family, they always get the brunt of my fusses, for which I'm sorry, but I'm really averse to confrontation in public.) The checker was instantly and graciously willing to adjust the price, but she'd already had to void out a charge that she inadvertently made and the line was long behind me and I was just so flustered I said to never mind. 

In the long range scheme of things this is probably just nothing.  But it's bothersome to me.  I feel like the world is falling apart.  There are so many complications to just everything.  For instance,  the chip on my VISA card quit working so I had to get a new card.  No biggie, easily resolved.  Except...there are a couple automatic charges on that card.  They got declined this month.  Was given incorrect information at the credit union about how that was handled.  So, I'm fighting fires this morning trying to get it all worked out. I'm glad there were only two of those automatic charges, working out the problems with just two has me wrung out.

The bright lights on the sport court next door were finally adjusted so they're now facing downward - per city code.  The corner lights on the house/patio have also finally been adjusted.  Makes a huge difference.  But they're still w-a-y bright (just not shining directly on our bedroom windows).  City requires all those bright lights be off at 10:30.  We've talked to the neighbors.  They've demurred saying the lights are well within the wattage requirement.  But they're LED's so the wattage doesn't apply, it's the lumens.  A week or so ago they were on until nearly 11:30.  Last night the kids were out playing and those blankety-blank-blank lights didn't go off until 11:15 (which is when the loud-boys-playing noise also finally stopped).  By that time, my "sleep window" had passed and I was awake for over another hour.  I can't decide if it upsets me so much because I'm just demanding and can't sleep or if it's my need for people to obey the laws even if is does impact their personal inconvenience or because it bugs me that there seems to be absolutely no consideration for other people.  I can't help wondering how those neighbors would be if we were so intrusive and inconsiderate of them.  

And probably this is another one of those life tests that I'm failing.  I try really hard to be a good person, a good citizen, a good neighbor and most of all a good and complete disciple of Christ. Right now it feels like I'm unsuccessful at all of those.  I wish the Savior was beside me telling me how to handle people who are so inconsiderate and care only for their own needs.  I know it would be with compassion and kindness, but is it right to just continue to completely give in and give up on our own rights / desires? I've already refused to be negative to her in face-to-face conversation.  I simply do not know what the answer is.

As I think about something to be grateful for this morning, I guess I'm grateful that those darn lights finally, finally, finally turned off.  And that I'm finally, finally, finally working through the VISA card issue.  I figure all those troublesome things will be replaced with other issues, but I guess I'll take one thing at a time.