envy

I normally have this under control, and usually don't covet what I haven't got. But this week has been a low-satisfaction week, so ENVY has reared its ugly head.

My son is going to summer camp at one of the local private schools. The campus is stunning, the curriculum is stellar, the faculty well-trained. It costs $13,000 less than I will pay in tuition next year. And so, the envy creeps in. I am jealous that our school isn't as nice, and I feel cheated that I have to pay so much more for my child to get an education. The truth is that my son isn't ready for a mainstream school. To move him would doom him to failure, which I don't want. But envy is less than rational, I find.

I am in a low period with my job: too much to do, no time to do it well, deadlines, competing agendas, yadda yadda yadda. And so I open the paper, which has a front of section article on the tech shortage. And how in-demand techies are now. And how the average database admin salary is $55 per hour. At my current 37.5 hour week, that is a little over $107K a year. Not what I make, not by a long shot. So then I started envying all the people who have somehow landed these awesome jobs...

Then I watched TV, and saw these fabulous backyard kitchens. More fabulous than my new kitchen in my house. And again, envy was lurking in every image. Why don't I have an outdoor pizza oven? granite counters, a fireplace, a pool right off the kitchen?

so this week's task is to remember how lucky I am. I have a wonderful husband, a terrific child, a good solid job. I have a house I love, friends I adore. I am someone to envy....