Green green grass

I'm getting ready for a trip abroad but I couldn't leave the country without a long-overdue blog post!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've started and stopped quite a few blogs.

Ironically, one was about writer's block. :)

But one of the things that I've settled on after a good 2+ weeks of pure observation of the world around me could be summed up by a few cliches.

You can't always get what you want.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
Never judge a man unless you have walked a mile in his shoes.

I've traveled a bit over the past couple of weeks, and in that time I've had the chance to catch up with a bunch of my good friends.  Inevitably, it ends up as a mutual admiration club.  I wish that I lived in one of the more exciting cities that they live in, but they long for the light traffic and low cost of living in the 'burg.  I miss the multiple opportunities to meet new people, they wish that they could be home at a reasonable hour, park in a driveway (or garage) and watch the sunset on a back porch with nothing but the sound of the birds chirping and the wind through the trees.

At the same time, my crop of friends and recent graduates that are entering the working world are quickly wondering why they were sooo ready to graduate.  It seems like everyone is wanting what they can't have.

I feel like it's not too much of a generalization to say that most people aren't completely satisfied with at least one aspect of their life.  But I think this is totally normal. 

Most people will vent occasionally but every now and then you meet those people that like to keep up a good "face" and keep it all inside.  I like to say that these people are being very American Beauty.  By this I mean, on the outside, they look like they have a perfect life but inside, it's a crazy Kevin Spacey mess.  And that's not good for anyone.

Those who scream the loudest have the most to hide.
Sometimes the saddest people have the biggest smile.

With all that said, it can be nice to see my life through someone else's eyes.  I could be feeling kind of blah, but then I'll hang out with someone who will tell me that they envy:

• the amount of free time that I have
• the fact that ProMo and I are DINKs who can "travel on a whim"
• the fact that we live in a cheap college town
• our lack of "responsibility" (a thinly veiled reference to kids)
• my 8-5 job
• my proximity to nature
• that I have such a cool husband...

I agree with some of these statements, disagree with a few others and find the rest laughable.  I'll let you figure out which is which. :)

The point is, sure...there are a lot of things that I would change about my life if I could, and there are a lot of things that I would keep the same.  So for now, I will be content with my perfectly imperfect life.  And I hope you will too.  Because no matter how it may seem, the grass isn't always greener...