It will take baby steps to beat our addiction to drama

Published 11:33 am Monday, January 23, 2017

Pres. Donald Trump’s Inauguration and the Women’s March on Washington D.C., overshadowed much of anything else going on around the nation this weekend, even, unfortunately, the devastation in the South where 18 people were killed by tornadoes in Georgia and Mississippi.

At about 7 p.m. Sunday night, I realized I was just as guilty. I had paid little attention to the news about the storms and instead got into the same arguments on social media.

Tragedy is never something we wish for, and I could never say “good” comes out of families losing loved ones; however, sometimes it does make the rest of us pause and draw ourselves out of the pettiness that seems to consume so many of us lately and realize that so much of what we argue about means nothing in the grand scheme of life.

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Do you think the families of those 18 people care about who is marching for what reason or what Trump plans on doing today or tomorrow? They are saying goodbye to their loved ones. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends are mourning while the rest of us tear each other apart with written words.

That’s just the big picture because 18 people killed from tornadoes makes the news. However, next door to you, a mother could be forgoing dinner so her children have something to eat. Across the street, a father may be on his knees praying for his child to recover from cancer. The child waiting on the bus you pass each day may be wondering why his parents fight so much and if it’s his fault.

There are people also celebrating — a new child, a wedding, a raise or maybe an acceptance letter into Ole Miss.

Life is about so much more than what’s going on in Washington D.C.

In Southaven, my daughter’s credit card information was stolen this weekend, most likely by a skimmer, which thieves can place on ATMs and gas pumps that record the credit card information, allowing them to use the information or make fake cards.

They took all her money and now she has to fight to get it back.

My 9-month-old granddaughter had a fever, and at 2 a.m. I was trying to convince her to swallow her medicine.

The IRS accepted my tax return. I broke out in hives all over my hands and face for unknown reasons. I had my nails painted by my 6-year-old granddaughter. My grandson crawled over to me for the first time. My son made awesome boiled peanuts for me.

These were the things that mattered in my life this weekend, the good parts and the not-so-good parts.

And it took me reading about the 18 people who died this weekend to remind me of all of that, and for that, I’m ashamed and yet, I am grateful.

Come tomorrow, I will probably get drawn into some argument about something I know I shouldn’t waste my time arguing about, but it seems to be the norm for many of us lately.

What’s wrong with us? How do we fix it?

It feels like we’re all addicted to drama and negativity. Like beating any addiction, I assume it will start with baby steps.

One day at a time.

Alyssa Schnugg is Senior Writer at the Oxford Eagle. Email her at alyssa.schnugg@oxfordeagle.com