3 minutes in line at Wal-Mart

I went to Wal-mart today on my lunch break...  I had to get a few things to have for snack because, unfortunately, I am not very good at planning and I didn't buy apples to eat with my Almond Butter that I purchased from Trader Joe's over the weekend.  (*side note - I just ate a honeycrisp apple with 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe's Raw Crunchy Unsalted almond butter - it was like 270 calories just for a snack - but it was worth every SINGLE calorie!!!!!! Plus...it's not like it was cake!)  So, I'm standing there in line and I looked up at the woman who was two people in front of me. She stuck out. (and that's kinda hard to do at Wal-mart!)  There she was, paying for her groceries. She was a slim brunette, about 28 years old, with her hair tied back, makeup perfectly applied, in a business suit.  She looked kinda like this:    Except she had a red shirt on under her suit jacket. She also had on one of the largest engagement rings I have ever seen on person. I also noticed that she was buying fruit, lettuce, etc. Not a single unhealthy thing on the conveyer belt. (Yes, i do pay attention to what people are buying at the grocery store and sometimes I make judgements based on that - I can be a terrible person. I digress.)  Immediately I started imagining what her life must be like.  I even gave her a name, Claire.  Claire's life was amazing. She had supportive parents (both of them). Claire played volleyball all through school and made perfect grades. Her grades (and her daddy's bank account) got her into a great college where she worked hard and was so smart that she graduated Valedictorian of her class - with a Masters in Business Law at the age of 22. She went on to get hired at the most prestigious law firm in Charlotte where she has been the best lawyer on the team ever since.  One day, Claire got a little cold (which NEVER happens to Claire because she takes such good care of her body) so she went to the doctors office. Where she met him. The most handsome doctor she had ever seen.    He instantly fell in love with her. He showered her with gifts and won over her heart and they were married one year later.  Claire now lives with her amazing husband, in a beautiful studio apartment that overlooks the skyline of Charlotte. They go running every morning with their golden retriever, Sam.  All of this - in about 3 minutes standing in line at Wal-mart.  You know what is funny about this story. It's funny to me how many of you do the exact same thing that I did!  Someone very wise once told me to never compare what you know about yourself to what you don't know about someone else - you will always lose.  I don't know Claire. As a matter of fact, I never even said hello to the woman. I have no idea how she grew up or even what she does for a living.  Claire could be unemployed - and she was wearing that suit because for the past year and a half she has been going from one job interview to another with no luck.  Claire could be in an abusive relationship where he always buys her nice things but he treats her like property.  Claire could hate her life.  It's unfair to me to stand there and come up with fantasies and then feel bad about myself because my life isn't as good as Claire's.  If you have ever found yourself doing this - it is unfair to you too.  Stop it.