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They have it better than we do. They live in mansions with rolling landscapes while driving a Mercedes or BMW. We live in a two bedroom apartment with a noisy furnace, no lawn to speak of, and drive a SUV that's eight years old.

Their children are always dressed in different clothes. They haven't worn the same coat twice. Our children have five pairs of pants/jeans each, five tops, two sweaters, and two jackets. Money is limited so we buy only what we need.

They take vacations to exotic places twice a year. We may get to the park for a week during the summer, and it's only a two hour drive from home.

They go out as a family every Friday night to watch a movie and eat at a restaurant. We may take our children to the movies once every six weeks and we, generally, eat at home.

They have it better than we do. Their lives are better than ours. They have more money and privileges than us. Oh, the grass looks so much greener on their side of the fence!

However, what we don't see is the distance that descends on the couple at the end of the day. After dinner, we don't see the husband as he heads to his home office to work for another couple of hours while his wife tends to the children, getting them settled into bed. We don't see the wife settling into her bed, alone, while her husband is still in his office working.

We can't hear the children discussing the little amount of time they spend with their parents, especially their dad who is always working, even at home. We don't hear the sadness in their voices, nor do we see the tears which come into their eyes when they miss their dad's hugs at night.

We don't see the family while on their vacations to exotic locations. We don't see the strain between the husband and wife who struggle to communicate. We have no way of knowing how many times the husband picks up his cell phone to make business calls. We can't see the regret on the children's faces that, even on vacation, their dad is still too busy for them most of the time.

There is so much we do not see and hear, yet we envy that family because they have more material possessions. The ironic thing is that we're envied as well. That family believes the grass is greener on our side of the fence. Imagine that!

The husband wishes he could have evenings off to spend time playing with his kids, as my husband does. The wife wishes she could stay at home with her children all day as I do. She wishes she didn't have such a big house to clean by herself.

Their children wish they had more time and fun with their parents, as our children do. They wish they could come home after school instead of having to attend an after-school program until their parents are finished working. They wish they could wear some of their favorite clothes more than once.

To summarize, the grass is only greener on the other side in some areas. Truthfully, we wouldn't want to trade every aspect of our lives for anyone else's. We wouldn't want to trade our memories, hopes, and dreams for anything. We wouldn't want to trade the members of our families to take on the members of another family.

Usually, it is when material possessions come into the picture that greed settles in. However, we must be careful what we wish for. We may experience deep regret it if our fondest wishes came true. We need to be content with what we have and with the people in our lives. In time, we may have more valuable material possessions but, in the meantime, we must be grateful for health, love, happiness, and peace of mind. What more can a family ask for?

Learn more about this author, Norma Budden.
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