Is the grass greener on the other side?

The grass is always greener on the other side.

I don't remember the first time I heard the expression but I have used it a few times when students are wishing for an easier teacher, an easier school, or an easier life. I am about to find out if the grass is indeed greener on the other side.
For six years I have prepared for six different classes each day. I have often envied my public school teacher friends who only had to prep for one class and teach it all day long. For six years I have been the lone language arts/reading teacher in the building. I have often wondered what it would be like to teach with others who are in my area; to collaborate on best practices. For six years I have lived in one place while wishing I lived in another.
Now, as of August 22, 2010, I will get all the things I have been thinking about. But I can't help but stop and wonder. Is the grass greener on the other side or is it just different grass?
I am sure the root of this expression is in our human desire for something better or different than we currently have. I know mine has been. But once I stopped wanting something better for myself and focused on what God wanted for me; where God wanted me to be; and why God kept me where He did, the grass did not matter anymore. All that matter was that I walk on the path paved by a God who knows the end.

Not Really 32

Today I am 32 years old. I don't really get worked up about age because it is just a number that doesn't really reflect how old I really am. How old am I really? It depends on the day. Lately I am certain that I am 14. Since I have that silly nervous feeling about making new friends. You know, the kind you get before you start a new school or move to a new town.
I remember being 14 and sitting in the car with my sister. We were driving to the first day of high school when I announced that she should turn the car around. "I'm not going." I believe were the exact words I used. I am sure tears were involved too, they always were in my "dramatic decade". Of course I went and it ended up being okay but I can still look back at those days and see that I wasn't really making friends but trying to keep "in".
I am hoping that 18 years of life has made me a more genuine person. One who is sensitive to the feelings of others and one that doesn't feel the need to "fit in"anymore. I am hoping that in 18 years I have become comfortable with being the me God delights in.
I hope so....

Through Elijah's Eyes

I let Elijah have use of the camera. I think I like the world through his eyes.