People say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and GOD are they right. First example that comes to mind is kindergarten. All we worried about was who got to be the line leader, what snacks we had to bring tomorrow and where we would set out our mats for nap time.

Nap time. Oh how I’d kill for nap time now. I remember how mad I’d get when my teacher announced what time it was. I’d clench my mat with hatred, or what a 5 year old considered hatred. We had no idea what hate meant back then. We really meant frustrated. So I smacked my mat down, glaring at my pillow with frustration. I’d mumble under my breath that I was frustrated at my teacher, staring her down as I laid there, watching her read a book or play solitaire.

A million thoughts raced in my mind. “I could be doing better things. Stacking blocks, tying knots, stringing beads or reading. Maybe practice my coloring, learning shapes. Why must lay here? Wasting time I could be using for better things. Why does my teacher think she can force me to sleep, against my will! I have rights! Rights to practice my animal sounds and learning how to spell cat and rope!” Maybe my thoughts didn’t sound quite like that, but I was one sophisticated 5 year old.

My point is, I was ungrateful. I didn’t know how lucky I was to be able to take a break from everything and get a chance to relax. Now, I’d love to shove my textbooks off my desk and just pass out. I didn’t realize how great I had it, and how could I? I was still eating my boogers.