I'm so glad to say goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall. I'm not a Summer girl to begin with...I hate the heat, hate lakes, hate hot cars, hate crowds...you get the idea. I like cool, crisp air, camping in the woods, bubble baths and sitting by the fireplace and snuggling up next to Allen & the kids. But this Summer made me extra grumpy.
We decided to pay off our debt. This means saying no to all the fun extras. We are putting all our money towards paying our bills, necessities and whatever is left is going towards paying down debt. Yeah, so that makes for a fun summer! It's easy to start feeling sorry for myself, especially in the age of social networking where everyone proudly announces all their fun vacations and new toys. (I swear one day I am closing my facebook account, and I'll be a better person for it) But I try to stay focused on the goal. Financial freedom. Paying cash for everything. And ultimately, not even having a house payment. I am not driven by money or material things. I am driven by freedom. Freedom to do what I want with my time and my money. And once we have no debt, it will feel great to buy something, guilt free. I am already changed. I was never a reckless spender, but I now realize how much crap we thought we needed, we never needed at all.
About the same time we came running out of the gate, ready to pay off debt, our business slowed down. One income household + self employed + Oklahoma's delayed reaction to the recession = uh oh. We'll be fine. It's just going to take a little longer to pay off the debt. So the slow business added to our summer fun.
We were pretty intense this summer. We contemplated two very big decisions. 1. do we want more kids? We decided no. Our family feels very complete. So we had the snippity snip procedure and sealed that deal. 2. We also considered picking up and moving our little family and making a new start. After many late nights & deep conversations, lots of driving around exploring new territories (to us) and weighing all the pros and cons, we decided to stay. So our roots are firmly planted and this is our home. This is the home we will raise our kids in. So I have tucked away my restlessness.
Add to the mix, some car problems, dryers that stopped working in the middle of drying lots of wet towels, and Sydney starting all day Kindergarten (huge life change since she's been home with me from day one)...and you get a pretty stressful summer. However, we did make two big changes that will save us over $450 a month! Yay!
But you know what also happened this Summer? We re-discovered our religion. Together, as a couple. As a family. After a decade of questioning everything we were raised with. We both started feeling pulled back in that direction. So we gave it a try. We went back to the church we were raised with and it felt like coming back home. It's been an amazing experience. And it's been amazing to be on the same page as a couple and experience it together. Everything is very clear to me now. I can't really articulate it just yet. But all my dots are connecting. And I feel closer to my Dad when I'm in church. Maybe he was pulling me back in the right direction.
Despite all our hardships this Summer, we were positive, we became closer and we had faith. I truly believe that God will give us what we need. The key is to learn to differentiate between needs and wants. Many wants just clutter our lives with junk and distractions. And I certainly have learned the lesson that all that really matters in life is our loved ones and our health. I would trade the most devastating financial problems for just one more day with my Dad.
I felt very stagnant this Summer. Just stuck on pause. I didn't even spend much time checking out new music. That is not like me at all. I've been needing something new to listen to and just checked out The Avett Brothers. This is just what I needed! I am loving their music and it so fits my vibe right now! Allen & I did make one "splurge" purchase recently. We bought tickets to see Band of Horses! They are one of our favorite bands and they're coming around our anniversary. I cannot go an entire year without hearing some great live music!
So I welcome Fall with open arms. I'm ready for the cool air and the falling leaves and to get my life back in motion again. Here's some Avett Brothers for you to enjoy!
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