This is so true. I think that this is a fact of life for any age. The part that saddens me about this, Jessica, is that it speaks to the human condition. Where I am right now isn’t okay. Who I am right now isn’t enough. There is always a time that was better, when things were easier. Life was perfect. That is such a lie, and that lie denigrates what’s possible in the now. My best friend’s mother (who died at 95 a few years back) spent a lot of time whaling on all of us about how things were ever so much better when she was younger (when there was a major world war in play, there were shortages, blah blah.) She was having a very hard timing living in the now- and her problem? Social media had left her confused, out of touch, and she refused to learn how to use it. As a result, she lost her position as the family matriarch. Rather than have the whole family call her and catch her up on news, everyone was using social media. She was deeply resentful. While this is just one snapshot of one person, watching her was an exercise in noticing how so many of us spend endless time pining for what we don’t have now, which robs the present of what we do have. Which is, I think the real message of your piece, at least for me. BTW I returned to this because I noticed you wrote a response, and then erased it (I’m always interested in what you have to say, Jessica, you’re one of my favorite writers on here). I love your insights.