Alright, Alright, Already

Ok Chrissie, here it is - a post. Actually it's a comment from here, but still, it's something. And! A bonus picture. Love you.

I came from a childhood so poor we lived in one room with towels and such stuffed under the cracks of the door because we had no heat. Our shampoo froze in winter and our electricity was shut off regularly. As a young adult, I flipped back and forth each month between paying the rent late and paying the electric late (and sometimes paying both late). My car was a gift from my sister, otherwise I would probably still have been driving "the blue cave," a 1977 4-door LTD that wouldn't die - probably because it was hardly ever driven as I couldn't afford to keep gas in it. I know what poverty is, at least in this country. And though my husband just did the whole mock heart attack bit when he paid for veggies from our local organic co-op, I am not poor now - at least not yet.

My husband and I have also decided to give up the corporate way (at least I did, he hasn't been into it much for quite some time) to work for ourselves so we can spend more time with our children. We call ourselves "eccentrics" (a few others call us that as well), in a prideful sort of way, and tell ourselves that if this doesn't work our best earning years are still in front of us (which certainly isn't hard to imagine considering what we earned last year).

In the years we've been married, we've done a lot of the things we wanted to do (except go abroad with backpacks). We had our children late in life. We're a bit old for sleeping on the ground in tents - not to mention the poorhouse. And yet, we've slept in 4 star beds, and frankly, we don't feel like we're missing anything, most of the time anyway. We have the lovely advantage of having had nearly everything we wanted (not that our wants were large though) and knowing there really wasn't much in it.

I didn't have much of a childhood, it was mostly rather grim to put it mildly, and my husband had his own set of early troubles. I don't think our children will be able to say the same, and I believe it likely that I'll remember their childhood far more fondly than my own. Every time I look at them, I know what is important – and what kind of work is important. I’m doing all in my power not to bungle the job.