A friend just informed Chad & I that we talk about money too much, particularly not having enough. He said we need to focus on what we do have, and maybe more will come our way. Noted. He's probably right. I read The Secret, I know.
Seems the only thing I can do between 3 A.M. and 5 A.M. is either agonize over advice like this & its implications, worry about being a mother, or read. I'm completely unable to get my fingers to do anything detailed or creative & clumsy housework at that hour creates ridiculous amounts of noise in our silent apartment building, Domov Mladeze. My reading is limited to the laptop-THANK YOU INTERNET- because I fly through books, but the internet has an endless amount of good writers contributing on a daily basis, and I'm ever so grateful. One of these writers contributed to a column asking people to write about things they were they were denying themselves. I read it last night and while a looming recession was mentioned as a reason to start eliminating excess from our lives, the contributers mainly focused on eliminating things from their diets. There were a few abstract surprises, but overall I was disappointed.
Our experience in a rather economically depressed area has forced us to eliminate a lot from our daily lives. I miss the freedom our vehicles provided. I miss milk that won't last 3 years on a shelf. I miss showers that cover my entire body in a steamy rainstorm. I miss so many THINGS, but it feels good to know we don't need everything we thought we needed before this experience. We've heard a lot of news regarding the rising costs of everything in the states such as gas & food, and the dropping of wages and investments like real-estate. People warn us that we will be surprised at what we'll return to in a month.
This isn't a highly visited site, but I think it would be really neat and maybe inspiring to list something you are denying yourself in the spirit of economy, environmental or social empathy, or just because...
It's quick and easy to comment anonymously, that way you don't have to log on.
3 comments:
It's true!
Feeling very fortunate to have a home that we can afford, good health, and love in our lives, still we have had to cut back on something very dear to us, due to the rise in everything's price. We have had to give up eating out a couple of times a month, and going to our favorite theater on Saturday nights. It's left a void, and caused us to go back in time to when we did not have extra cash because we needed every nickle to raise a family, etc. A terrific date on Mother's Day has filled that void for awhile.
It felt so good to go to our favorite restaurant again, drink a good wine, feel sexy and look at a beautiful woman across the table from me. And that void? It will soon be filled by having our family return from the Czech Republic to be with us again.
I feel as though we have been slicing away every single non-essential in our life till it is as lean as a coyote out in the chaparral. First it was the image luxuries that felt silly after moving away from Los Angeles: eyebrow waxing and regular highlights and $100 heels. Then it was eating out and bars, then microbrews then Heineken then Corona- we drink mostly Busch now with the occasional Bud. I stopped buying comic books every Wednesday and Luke stopped buying video games at all. No more good yarn to knit with. I don't go to bookstores anymore, but I got a library card. I stopped driving. I scour Craigslist for free/cheap stuff every single day because without it we would just make do without baby monitors and a co-sleeper and receiving blankets. The sheets all have holes and the towels are slowly shredding to pieces, but I won't replace them till the babies are out of the spitting up and peeing on things phase. I have exactly one pair of jeans that fits properly. I went from spending money to ease depression to anxiety attacks when spending money.
We are painfully broke and barely making it every month, the thought of our money problems sends me into a terrible panicky headspace.
And yet, I'm healthier and happier than I ever imagined I could be. I fall asleep feeling loved and cherished every single night. And no matter how lean it gets, knowing that we can get by even at the worst of times makes me stronger.
Wow! Thank you for the eloquent responses! My friends w/o children never quite understand just how much each sacrifice is rewarded. There is a joy in our lives we can't ever begin to express enough thanks for.
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