Yesterday was as sunny as it was cold and windy so we took the kids to the Big Park With the Sand Pit. In winter you never know when the next vitamin D infusion will come so you have to take advantage when you have opportunity. And also Daddy is on Staycation and had never been to said park.
We took the scenic route to get to the park (as one is apt to do when one is on Staycation). It was lovely. And almost educational. As we drove past houses better described as castles; a house with a yard containing a train car, a fountain, and not one but two! bushes trimmed to look like giraffes; run down houses with junk spewing onto the porch and lawn; and a few houses I would now describe as "average," it became apparent that there are so many ways to live your life.
You might spend your money on lawn ornaments while your neighbor spends his on fancy windows while the guy down the street buys late night infomercial products, while some people across town fly to South Africa for a week with their entire extended family (sans Grandpa and us--but we're not bitter).
Each way you choose to live means you're sacrificing another way you could have lived.
Seeing how others live, whether it's your neighbor's fancy yard or your friends' activities on social media, can both inspire and discourage. Let's allow more of the former and shut out the latter in 2019.
One way to keep from feeling discouraged is to remember that we're probably not seeing the full picture and that no matter how good their life seems, they're making trade-offs too. Perhaps instead of just observing and "liking," we could ask questions to learn why others live the way they live and incorporate a little of what we learn in our own lives.
I'm currently feeling inspired by someone I admire who has an easy chair and footstool in her kitchen. I think my kitchen is not conducive to this set up, but I haven't given up trying to squeeze in a relaxation spot.
All these thoughts brought to you by a trip to the park.
And by my children sleeping in past 7am this morning so I could write.
We took the scenic route to get to the park (as one is apt to do when one is on Staycation). It was lovely. And almost educational. As we drove past houses better described as castles; a house with a yard containing a train car, a fountain, and not one but two! bushes trimmed to look like giraffes; run down houses with junk spewing onto the porch and lawn; and a few houses I would now describe as "average," it became apparent that there are so many ways to live your life.
You might spend your money on lawn ornaments while your neighbor spends his on fancy windows while the guy down the street buys late night infomercial products, while some people across town fly to South Africa for a week with their entire extended family (sans Grandpa and us--but we're not bitter).
Each way you choose to live means you're sacrificing another way you could have lived.
Seeing how others live, whether it's your neighbor's fancy yard or your friends' activities on social media, can both inspire and discourage. Let's allow more of the former and shut out the latter in 2019.
One way to keep from feeling discouraged is to remember that we're probably not seeing the full picture and that no matter how good their life seems, they're making trade-offs too. Perhaps instead of just observing and "liking," we could ask questions to learn why others live the way they live and incorporate a little of what we learn in our own lives.
I'm currently feeling inspired by someone I admire who has an easy chair and footstool in her kitchen. I think my kitchen is not conducive to this set up, but I haven't given up trying to squeeze in a relaxation spot.
All these thoughts brought to you by a trip to the park.
And by my children sleeping in past 7am this morning so I could write.
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