Weekend Getaway

This concept usually applies to parents, but this time it applies to my teenage son. He spent the entire weekend at a friend's house. He says that his friend's family thinks of him as one of their own--they love him and he is welcome anytime. I am fine with that--I am glad that he has a good friend and gets along well with his family. Still, I feel a bit slighted in some ways--he is now in the stage where he would much rather be at their house than ours, and that sometimes takes time away from OUR family time. One issue is this: they have more than we do--more of everything! Because they have more income and live at a higher standard than we do, some issues sometimes come up related to this. His friend really never wants to come over here and my son really doesn't invite him over--we don't have all of the cool things that they have. Why eat hamburgers when you can eat filet mignon, right? I mean this in a figurative way, but they DO eat out often and have no problem paying my son's way. I have talked to him about this--I offer some money but cannot afford to give him money for all of the things that they do. He assures me that they invite him and are fine with adding him to their bill. This makes me feel guilty--I want to help, but cannot. So I suggested that my son not "mooch" off of them too often--it could become a problem. He assures me that it is not. He tells me about their financial situation--apparently dropping a lot of money on things is no big deal to them. I wonder if I would feel this way if the money issue wasn't there--I know that I miss my son when he is gone all weekend, no matter where he is. Sometimes we tease him and say that he would rather live with his "other family." When all is said and done, I know for certain that I have given my son a large portion of love and attention--i know that this is the most important thing. Just because his friend's family can give him more things--mostly more experiences that cost money--doesn't diminish anything in our relationship. I guess I feel a bit jealous--my son is currently enamored with this wealthier lifestyle--he wants to spend as much time in that environment as possible. All I can do is love him and let him know how I feel--I do that every day. I know he KNOWS I love him--I will try not to take it too personally when he wants to spend so much time away from home--that is just part of being a teenager!