My Side of the Street

I think everyone in the world has had a moment, or 10,000, when they look at their life in it's current state and think
"Wow, I wish I had..."
or
"Life would be better if..."
or
"Mrs. Jones has it better because..."
or
"Anything is better than this."

Most of the American society just isn't pleased with their station in life. We all want more. More money, more free time, more appreciation, more love, more passion, more understanding, more compassion...MORE.

I'm all about more with most things. More turkey does indeed make a better sandwich. More time doing the things that make my heart sing. More time spent in the embrace of those that I love the most.
But sometimes the "MORE" idea just isn't better.

When we're not searching for more, it seems were searching for different. Now different isn't as tricky as more, in my opinion. Different can be a hair color, hairstyle, different nail polish, different study subject, different challenge.
The problem with different comes when different is so large it
1) cannot possibly be attained
and or
2) chasing the "different" becomes such a distraction you cannot focus on what you have in the here and now.

You are probably asking yourself why I'm running at the mouth like this. Taking liberties as to what most of society is thinking. You might even be feeling like I'm acting a little "high and mighty". You're right on both accounts. I am taking liberties with society as a whole and I am acting like a moral compass. It's my blog and that's what I get to do here.
I'm not doing this to challenge anyone other than myself.

You see, this Monday brought it's usual amount of frustrations but along with those battles came a bad case of the "I want more/ I want differents". Ugh, I fucking hate those moments, those days. I want to wave a magic wand and just be happy with what I have and where I am. After all, I have a pretty good life.
I have a husband that loves me more than anything. A daughter that is the light of my life and a really great kid. A few true friends that would walk through fire for me. A roof over my head. My family is all together. And as an extra special bonus 2 Starbucks with drive-thrus only 10 minutes away.
What more could a girl ask for?

I would ask for more moments like these.


The weather clearing and cooling just enough for Scott, Kate and I to get outside and play some baseball.


No trip outside is complete now without a "race" between Scott and Kate. So glad I wasn't too distracted with my desire to have more time so I could properly maintain my landscaping.

If I was too busy thinking about how being in California would fix all of my problems, I would have missed the cute photos that our "rain delay" offered.


Good thing I wasn't consumed by my need to look "perfect" for the camera, I would have missed out on my baby girl taking this wonderful photo.


I spent entirely too much time today wishing I could have what other people have. Wishing I had a husband that could walk. A husband that I could share the burdens of life with. A family that more closely resembles that of what Kate sees on TV. I thought about how a trip to Cape Cod or California or really anywhere, would take away my woes. I thought about how if we could just sell this house all of our problems would be fixed.

The reality is, a different house, a different location, a different family unit will not cure my ills. Sure it would give me something new to obsess over, it would surely distract me for awhile from my "real" problems but it wouldn't really solve anything. At the end of the day I would still have heartache, setbacks, failures and inadequacies. It's what makes us human. And this blog is a reminder, a testament if you will, to that.
May I never forget to be grateful for all that I have. May my moments of envy be fewer and my moments of full embrace be more prevalent.
The next time I'm looking across the proverbial street thinking about how green the grass is I want to think about this post, re-read it, look at these pictures and remember that I have so much to be overwhelming grateful for. My side of the street is the best side of the street and I hope all of you see that your side of the street is just as fantastic as mine.
It may not be Barbie's Dream House but it's my house and I love it, weeds and all.