Palish

One of the disappointing things about being an adult is the shifting scale of desire. Satisfaction is fleeting, and pursuing the next big thing will only lead to the next next big thing. I have a nice apartment. It's small, but big enough for two people and their pets. I have a car. It's oldish but still runs well, and being a Honda, would run until the end of the world if we asked that of it. Problem? I want a house. We had dinner with friends at their single family with a yard in the suburbs last night, and, my god, the space. There were empty rooms! A basement! Two bathrooms! A driveway! All of which led to a little wistfulness on our part.

At 30, real estate seems as remote as it did when I was 20, especially since we live in Boston. Our real estate lust has redirected itself into new car lust, because, damn it, we can afford a Subaru. To be honest, we could care less about a new car, but a new something would show the world that We Can Buy.

I imagine, sometime in the future, that we will have a house and a new car (or two). and kids. and a second dog. What, I wonder, will I want then? What unreachable goal will present itself as the road to contentment? Is this pursuit of happiness via high ticket items particularly American? Or is it human to want what we don't have, whatever the scale? I honestly don't know, but I'd love to have a BMW X5 before I'm 40.