Not fair, not fair, I say. Very soon we’ll be back to the bustle and rush of school. I for one, have not had nearly enough vacation. At least one more camping trip–can’t we squeeze one in? A weekend to visit my parents–I know it’s asking a lot…

It’s time like these when I am tempted to think the answer to all my wishes is money. If I had more money, doesn’t it seem that I should able to buy more time? The plane ticket wouldn’t be an issue. I could simply go. A camping trip would be set in a flash–what’s an extra day off from work and a campground reservation, when you’re loaded with extra to spend?

Is it just a dream? Just an excuse to cover the fact that it’s hard to sacrifice for those things I think I want? Didn’t I already make my choice when I chose to go to Spokane this summer for five days–again this year? One trip a year is barely manageable, impossibly costly and not just in money. That’s why I just wish it were just numbers–and that I had more of them to spread around.

You know what just kills me? You can travel the world. You can see the great wonders and the must-sees if you are fantastically wealthy. But sometimes when you have a lot of money–money is all you have. Family all gone or estranged. Loved ones passed on, children who don’t care to see you.

I wonder what someone like that would tell me what the answer really is….

My mother always tells me, this is just life. You never have what it is when you need it. When you have small kids, half the time you don’t have the money for a chest of drawers to keep their second hand clothes in–let alone money to visit family far away. But when you are old, you might have a few nice things, some furniture, an nicer car, live in a better place—-wishing you could give it away if only it were possible to go back in time and have the things you needed then. It doesn’t matter so much now, when you’re old–she says. But it’s the way things are.