As my wife and I sat on the front porch, our months-old pup explored the needs-to-be-mowed yard like an animal in the savannah. She is small enough and the yard is due enough that the scene made for good entertainment. She would explore until she reached the end of her leash’s length and would then strain to get to the grass that was just the beyond her nose. I guess the grass was greener those few inches away.

The expression, “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence,” describes well our natural tendency to think that where we aren’t is better than where we are. Sometimes it is, often it is not. But the tendency to think that way persists. It is human nature.

I am particularly fond of the expression because of the role that it played in my life. I included the story in my book, Daddin’: The Verb of Being a Dad.

The story takes place in 2001. After much consideration,  I had decided to accept a job in the Houston area, which was home for the vast majority of my life. It was not an easy decision, but in the end, I felt like the move from Albuquerque for a promotion and perceived great opportunity was the right thing to do for me and my family.

My middle son was going to be my companion on the drive to a new career step. We were about to pull out of the driveway when my youngest son, then nine years old, came to the driver’s side window and handed me a clear, plastic sandwich bag. He handed it to me and said, “So you can see if the grass is greener there.” In the bag was a young boy’s handful of grass pulled from the front yard.

 A quarter-century since that interaction, I can say that the grass wasn’t greener in the new location. It was just different. It, too, turned brown in drought conditions, it flourished when tended properly, and it died when not cared for. Life is that way.