Last night two of my children, ages 15 and 9, were discussing the books they were reading. Earlier in the week, the nine year old brought home an assigned book from school that contains more pages and chapters than she has read in the past. The discussion between these two soon became a competition (typical of my children) over whose book was more difficult. The 9 year old was certain her book was harder because "there are 46 chapters." The 15 year old replied, "Yeah, but your chapters are shorter. How many pages do you have?"
As my nine year old was trying to prove her point, I interjected. "Abby, you can't compare yourself to Austin. He's six years older." She answered with, "Well, I can contrast." "Oh, yes. You can certainly do that."
As an English major, I was proud of Abby for making that connection to school. She's learned how to apply reading comprehension to her everyday life. But as I was thinking about this statement later, I thought that was such a good point that Abby made. How often do we try to compare ourselves to those around us? I know I do this more than I should. I'll fall into comparing my mothering skills, career, or my children's behavior and how that reflects on me. How different would I perceive things in my life if I concentrated on the contrast?
No matter what, I am going to be different from everyone around me. The experiences in my life add to what makes me unique. I should be content with that fact and celebrate those differences, instead of wondering how I measure up to others around me.
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