Gratitude Monday: bills

Yesterday was bill-paying day. It was an extra-big one on account of paying the Amex bill that included the major work on the car last month, the Visa bill that included the invoice for last year’s tax prep and the annual extortion by the People’s Republic’s “association”. (I wouldn’t be so resentful about the last one if all residents of the place had to pay, but the massive high-rise developments that are bringing in thousands of well-heeled yuppies are exempt, so I’m basically subsidizing their use of the amenities.)

But as I lined up the electronics to pay them all (including Comcast, which I intend to trim back considerably), it occurred to me that I have the money for all of it, plus the final payment for the crown work I had done last year, and to get more needed repairs done to the car next month.

And even though I have a very uneasy relationship with financial things, I realized that it’s a matter for deep gratitude that I can pay my bills—even (within reason) the surprise ones. I consider the millions of federal workers and contractors who have taken serious and to some extent irremediable financial hits at the hands of the current administration, and I’m also grateful that I have enough (even in my anxious mindset) that I can make contributions to funds to help them out.

That’s a good Gratitude Monday.