For the Sake of Comparison...

You can't really judge something effectively unless you have something to compare it to. Sometimes it works in your favor. But not always.

Hubby had an excellent day today. Sure, he had to do some laundry and put dishes away. But while he was off, he also got to meet up with friends at the saloon for an entertaining lunch hour.

I had a great day at work. Sure, it was productive and interesting. But before I got there, I had my annual visit/exam with Dr. Fun, so considering how my day started, work sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

This evening we had parent-teacher conferences for Carter. Sure, he's a good kid with a few self-control issues. But compared to a "high energy" class of 20 other energized folks, he's a pretty good kid. (He got lucky on that one.)

Seriously, his teacher had nothing but good to say about him and pointed out, like we often do to him, that if he didn't rush through things -- or at least went back and checked his work -- he could be a straight-A student. He's got that potential.

And, in this case, we say, "Who cares what other kids are doing or not doing? We're not comparing you to them. This all about you and what you can do. And we know you can do it."

Former school-loving honor-student Mommy has to keep saying that so she doesn't start comparing either!