![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_6334-4169145833-1509396450108-300x234.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You wouldn\u2019t hear much these days about the Seven Deadly Sins, unless some aspiring social media \u201cinfluencer\u201d transformed them into Seven Deadly Sins that will Hamper Your Career\u2014or some other impossibly simplified, allegedly self-helping pablum that was then shared on some garbage-filled social channel, receiving \u201clikes\u201d from thousands.<\/p>\n
Well. I\u2019ve already digressed, and we\u2019re just getting started.<\/p>\n
Returning now to our regularly scheduled program: I recently got reacquainted with one of the Super Seven, we might call them. Her name is Envy.<\/p>\n
There was a time, not long ago, when Envy visited regularly, and I got to know her pretty well. You might know someone like her. Envy never fights her impossibly curly hair. She eats the occasional donut, yet never gains weight. She has a doting and faithful husband who laughs at her jokes, regularly brings home a paycheck, and will share in-depth conversations about a favorite Americana artist. Envy drives a sexy, late-model convertible, and nothing ever goes wrong with it. She travels a couple of times a year to exotic, sunny locations with smiling family, leaving the rest of us to admire, or resent (depending on the day), her Facebook vacation photos<\/p>\n
And Envy\u2019s powers go deeper, to more important, heart-rending matters. She has all the time she wants to spend with her family, whenever she chooses or may be needed. Envy never endured the gut-wrenching realities of looking for a job, and she never has too much month at the end of her money. \u00a0She is never afraid of being alone when she is old. \u00a0Most importantly of all, Envy never lost an adored family member to cancer.<\/p>\n
Yep, Envy hung around a lot, during some tough times, until gradually I got sick of her. Maybe certain life changes opened my eyes wider to the value of things I had not held dear enough, or perhaps other vices just demanded my immediate attention. Either way, I realized I hadn\u2019t seen Envy in quite some time, when suddenly, a few weeks back, she returned. Unannounced.<\/p>\n
It was time for a much-needed break from the office, when a friend at work mentioned she was taking off at the same time. \u201cTaking my grandkids to the beach,\u201d she crowed. \u201cRented a place right on the water, where we can walk to great restaurants. Going on to Disney World from there. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d Hope it\u2019s a blast, I responded, not as cheerfully as I might have, beating a swift path down the hall and out of sight before she could ask me what i was doing with my vacation. The answer wasn\u2019t going to sound like much, in comparison.<\/p>\n
There are indeed many blessings in life these days, but a beachfront condo and Disney junket funded by me for me and the grandkids was not one of them\u2014-at least (she qualifies, optimistic to the very end), not in present circumstances. So, I went back to my office for a private pout and the chance to wish in solitary self-pity that I could bestow such wonders. I shut the door and turned around to see Envy reclining easily in my chair, her high-heeled, embroidered yellow cowboy boots propped up on the desk.<\/p>\n
Get out, I began, with less ferocity than I might have.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just dropped in to ask about your grandchildren,\u201d she observed, in musical tones. \u201cHow are things going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Get out! This time, I shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkey dokey,\u201d she acquiesced, easing her way to the door. \u201cBut I expect we\u2019ll bump into each other again soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few days later, it was time for a Vacation Day with G-Ma, 2017-style, and this year\u2019s episode was strictly local. My daughter dropped off Sis for a day with me while her brother was off on a camp expedition, and we blasted off in pursuit of Fun on the Cheap. It started at the swimming pool, then progressed to lunch and a prolonged visit to the public library. From there, we sashayed over to a local joint that purveys the most divine popsicles, all made from fresh fruits and whole creams.<\/p>\n
As outings with Sis tend to go, the day included a sprinkling of brief but acute tragedies. Her swim float sprung a leak at the pool, and later she went down forward on her elbows and knees on the library sidewalk, shedding a bit of blood and causing severe injury to her dignity. Let\u2019s hope, I thought, that a popsicle has healing qualities.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/tl4-300x225.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/tl3-225x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I parked outside the popsicle place and stood out in the sunshine, leaning in with an extended hand to help Sis hoist herself out of the booster seat in the back. As she pushed her four-year-old self upward and out, she delivered one of those smack-the-head, open-the-eyes moments. And I thought, not for the first time, that I should try as hard to learn from these children as I try to occasionally teach them a little something.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the best day EVER,\u201d she announced, hopping down onto the pavement. \u201cWe went swimming, and now we\u2019re getting a popsicle\u2026.\u201d She heaved a huge sigh of rapt anticipation, then inquired for the at least the third time, \u201cWhat flavors do they have?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up for a brief second and noticed Envy sitting on one of the sun-dappled benches outside the popsicle store. She was watching us, laughing ironically and pointing her finger right at me. I leaned down to grab Sis\u2019 hand, and when I looked up, she was strolling rapidly in the other direction, until she became a tiny dot on the horizon, then was gone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You wouldn\u2019t hear much these days about the Seven Deadly Sins, unless some aspiring social media \u201cinfluencer\u201d transformed them into Seven Deadly Sins that will Hamper Your Career\u2014or some other impossibly simplified, allegedly self-helping pablum that was then shared on some garbage-filled social channel, receiving \u201clikes\u201d from thousands. Well. I\u2019ve already digressed, and we\u2019re just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[20,21,22,23,24],"class_list":["post-1133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grandkids","category-mid-life-adventures","tag-envy","tag-granddaughters","tag-grandmothers","tag-grandparent-vacations","tag-vacations-with-grandchildren"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}