During my hour drive to Stockton to Visit my cousins today, I found myself Thinking about one of my cousins in particular. She and I are the same age and grew up together. She married ten years before I did, which resulted in the two of us having very different lives and thereby drifting apart. It wasn't until I became a mom that the two of us have become close again - vowing to make sure that our kids grow up knowing each other and spending lots of time together.

Some people seem to have it all - and my cousin is one of those people. She's beautiful inside and out. People want to be around her. To be her friend. She's funny, she's Martha Stewart creative, an amazing cook, a fabulous mother, and so much more. Her husband is an incredibly successful business man (and nice, too!), which has afforded them a life of luxury. I was thinking about not only how blessed her life has been from a materialistic standpoint but also from the standpoint of her abundance of very close family members and friends. She truly seems to have it all. So many people lucky enough to find themselves in a life such as hers tend to be arrogant or conceited. Not my cousin. She's truly a friendly, accepting, fabulous woman.

It wasn't fifteen minutes in to our visit today that she started sharing her troubles with us. I was shocked to hear she has troubles. They're health related and they're frightening. I couldn't help but find myself thinking that things aren't always as they appear. Her life is an example of so many others ... candy coated on the outside, but not always so sweet once you crack it open.
A reminder to be careful what we envy, I guess.