The Grass is Greener — Where?
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
Summer is here, and the kids are out of school. Yay. Oh, the bliss.
Yesterday, I planned to stay home and get things done around the house. Let the kids OD on Star Trek reruns for a change. But toward the end of the day, my 12-year-old son got an attack of the whines. “Let’s get out of the house. I need to get out of the house and go DO something!” Oh really?
Today, I planned a day of errands, mostly to get the same son prepared for his backpacking trip next week. We were away from home for hours as we attempted to get Boy Scout medical forms signed by doctors; purchase hiking pants, neoprene socks, freeze-dried dinners, walking sticks, and duct tape from a variety of shops; sign up for swim lessons at the desired pool; have a Chipotle’s lunch to revive our flagging energy; squeeze in a haircut for my daughter; and reward everyone with a stop at the library and the pizza shop.
Guess who had this to say at several points along the way: “Let’s please go home. I just wanna go hooooome.”
Even when we get what we wish for, it’s rarely what we truly want. There’s always something more, better, different, and just slightly out of reach that would make us perfectly happy — right?