Article posted Tuesday, March 17, 2015 1:41pm

Dear Mary Pat,

I’m feeling a little jealous. It seems like everyone in the county went somewhere warm for spring break…except me and my family. Every time I see a photo of a stunning Florida sunset, I feel sad that we couldn’t afford to take our kids to Disney or somewhere coastal. I don’t begrudge them and I don’t want to sound petty. I guess that’s just the way it is.

Signed,

Not as Tan as the Others

Sturgeon Bay, WI

Dear Not as Tan as the Others,

I know there are studies that say that too much exposure to your friends’ lives on social media can cause negative feelings, with jealousy usually topping the list. Social media probably makes it seem like EVERYONE is on vacation, but I know that’s not true. If you take Facebook and Instagram out of the equation, you still have a tried and true adage that I was raised on: When you compare yourself to others, you are always going to come up short. And it is absolutely true. I don’t remember a time when I ever went on a “spring break” while in grade school and certainly not in high school. During college while my friends went to Florida or Texas for spring break, I went home to work for a week and was just happy to have a recess from schoolwork. As far as I know, I haven’t suffered any permanent damage from not going somewhere warm in March as a youngster.

Instead of worrying about what you couldn’t do with your family, concentrate on what you can do. Just look at the amazing weather we are having! Take your family for a drive in the county or down to Green Bay. After winter, 45 degrees in March and an ice cream cone will seem like a fairytale to a six-year-old. (Just leaving the house without gloves and a hat seems like a bonus.) Or maybe next weekend you rent a room for one night at a hotel with a swimming pool. Your kids just want to spend time with you and that doesn’t require a beautiful sunset.

Good luck,

Mary Pat