Greener Grass

The grass is greener on the other side, right? Sometimes it sure as heck seems that way... however it's SO wrong.

I believe that one of the biggest things we humans struggle with, is that we have a hard time being happy in our own circumstances. We always want more. Some people wish they had more money, or they lived in a bigger homes. Some people wish they had fancier clothing, or more extravagant cars. For whatever reason, it seems to be in our nature to always want more.

Kent and I are currently living in a 2 bedroom house. It is absolutely tiny. The washing machine is in the little bathroom, and the dryer is in the kitchen. There aren't enough cupboards in the kitchen to put the gazzilion kitchen gadgets (pots, pans, utensils, dinnerware, etc.) that we own. We don't have a disposal, OR a dishwasher. I am the dishwasher. Our fridge is crammed in the corner of our kitchen right next to our tiny kitchen table, making it near impossible to get food out of it without moving the table completely out of the way. There is not enough room in our bedroom closet to put all of the clothes that we both own. Our spare bedroom is stuffed full of fishing gear, camo, tackle boxes, wedding decorations, sleeping bags, camping gear, snowmobile helmets, and wedding presents that we have yet to open from the boxes. We hate that we can't have our horses close to us, or afford property right now. We complain about the CONSTANT construction that is going on in front of our drive way, requiring us to ask the construction workers to move every time we want to leave our home. We wish more than anything that we had a place in our living room to put a piano. Why the heck am I wishing the grass is greener?

Let me rephrase... My husband and I are currently living in a 2 bedroom home. We have a fantastic ward, a huge drive way for all of our toys, AND our landlords even let us repaint the whole home whatever colors we wanted. We have a washing machine AND a dryer. We don't have to take weekly trips to the laundromat in order to have clean clothing. We have been blessed with soo many kitchen gadgets that we don't even have enough room for them in our kitchen.  We always have delicious food in our refrigerator. We have more clothing than what we even need. Some people don't even have clothes. Our spare bedroom is stuffed full of so many fun things that make our life enjoyable. We have the capability to leave on fishing and hunting trips whenever we desire. We have horses in Tooele, and we can ride them whenever we want. We live in a city that takes care of itself. American Fork is constantly redoing roads, and water pipes. The city is always trying to better itself. I have a piano that I can teach from and play on whenever I want at my parents house. It's a huge blessing that my parents are even willing to deal with the sound of new piano students playing for 5 hours twice a week. Kent and I both drive huge gas guzzling trucks, simply because we think it's fun. We both have jobs that allow us to leave on vacation spontaneously, and whenever we want.

Life is all about perspective. In my kitchen, I have a quote hanging on my wall.

The Grass is Green Where You Water It

This is my motto for the year. Kent and I have been scraping our pennies, trying to figure out anyway possible to make a down payment on a home this summer. Unfortunately, it's just not going to be in the books for us this year... and that is OK. We are so beyond blessed to even have the home that we do. Before you even know it, I am going to have the greenest grass in the whole state because I choose to water mine. I love the stage of life that I am in, and all the experiences that come with it. I am grateful that I am having the opportunity to learn how to manage money, and budget. I'm grateful that I am learning how to communicate, and give and take in a marriage. I am grateful that I know what it's like to wash all of our dishes by hand... because one day I am really going to appreciate my dishwasher. Heck I am grateful that I am learning how to be grateful for things. Take your life into your own hands. Go out and water your grass (literally and figuratively) and be grateful that you even have grass to water.

     Sincerely,