belated carnival mention

I forgot to mention it earlier this week, but I was included in the latest Carnival of Personal Finance at My Retirement Blog. Probably my favorite article there was plonkee’s “standing up to the green-eyed monster,” and there’s a particular reason why – it hit a chord with me today. We spent some time looking at a pictures a friend of my wife sent to her from a recent vacation in Greece and we spent a few minutes being envious of the crystal clear waters and bleached white buildings of Mykonos, etc., as we unloaded groceries and changed diapers.

But you know what? That’s her life, and we have ours, and as part of my “grateful project” (more on that later) I don’t need to be jealous. I have a wonderful wife and son (who is more and more interesting every single day), a comfortable home and my family is (for the most part) all doing well. There will be days on the beach in the future, but there is no point in letting envy of someone else ruin my day, either. As the weekend kicks in … I am content, and that’s the goal, isn’t it? My life is already a day at the beach.