An Incongruous Juxtaposition

My dad and step-mom got back Tuesday from visiting my sister in Germany. She just had her second baby, and they were there to help around the house and take care of my two-year old niece. I was completely psyched for both of them, since neither of them have done much traveling. (Dad's trip to Vietnam in the 70's doesn't quite count.) They got to run (literally, they are marathon runners) around the countryside, eat delicious German food, and spend time with their grandkids. I am so happy that they did.

But...(there always is one, isn't there?), it did feel a little weird that, while my sister is enjoying time with her new baby boy, I am trying to wrap my head around my upcoming IVF. While she was in labor, I was spending time getting my own brand of ultra-sound. While she spent her first nights with her son, I contemplated how my husband and I are going to finance the $12,500 that it's going to cost to TRY to have a baby.

My aunt tells me that this is called an "incongruous juxtaposition" - when two people are having opposite experiences at the same time. And it's not just limited to me, of course. I was reading a letter from a soldier in Afghanistan to my kids on Friday, wherein he told my studnets about the schools / schoolkids in that country. They sit on carpets on the ground. They walk miles to school in difficult areas just so they can attend. They often don't have any paper or pencils. Their schools are neither heated nor cooled.

We whine when our free school breakfast program gives us cereal for breakfast instead of an egg and sausage sandwich. They have nothing; we have everything.

I wish there was a way to equalize these situations. I wish. I am thankful that I have the means to overcome mine, though. And perhaps this experience will help me to realize what I have too much of...and what I could give to others.