“Jealousy is all the fun you think they had”– Erica Jong

When my friend, Barbara C, returned from camp the summer we were about 16, she ecstatically announced she had a boyfriend and they “made out.”
I was green with envy. Boys didn’t even ask me to dance.

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When a fellow high school senior got accepted to her first choice college, she was walking on air.
I was green with envy. My safety school was the only one that accepted me and I didn’t even want to go there.

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When my co-worker, Lois, was promoted to become a reporter at 22, she looked pleased as punch.
I was green with envy. My job was one notch above a clerical assistant and I wanted to be a reporter.

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When my rich friend, Linda, quit her job to become a full-time mother, she acted like she didn’t have a care in the world.
I was green with envy. My husband wasn’t working and I was stressed 24/7 about my job.

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When my competition won an account I was also pitching, they walked around like they owned the world.
I was green with envy. My business needed that account, and besides, we were smarter.

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Something great happened once I became FOF. The envy went away…well, mostly.

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My friend, Linda W, gets her latest manuscript accepted by a book publisher and she calls to excitedly tell me.
I am thrilled. Linda is a brilliant writer and a wonderful woman.

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My friend, Marla, is going to be on Katie Couric’s new talk show to discuss how she reinvented herself as a designer.
I am thrilled. Marla deserves the attention. And so do her marvelous clothes, which she sells on HSN.

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One of my sisters has taken one marvelous trip after another during the last year.
I am thrilled.  Her demanding work has consumed her for over three decades and she deserves this time to herself.

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My friend, M, has her bid accepted for a $2.5 million co-op in Manhattan.
I am thrilled. She’ll be moving 7 blocks away, so I’ll get to see a lot more of her.

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The little green monster may still rear its ugly head for moments (I wouldn’t mind having more time for travel, more talent to write a book and more money to buy a grander apartment), but I’m really satisfied with my lot in life.  And I wouldn’t trade places with anyone in the whole wide world.

Besides, it all evens out in the end, doesn’t it?