Pendulum Swings

It's funny how one day can change everything.

How far the pendulum can swing in just a few short conversations.

Go back 5 years ago... I was pregnant with Annalise and we needed a van. We travel quite far to see family and the days of packing us all into a car were ending. At the time, Jeremy had a Ford Festiva and I had a Hyundai Elantra. Both tiny cars.

We went shopping, in the cold, in the middle of November. Car shopping in the winter is never a good idea.

After driving through a number of lots and talking to a few salesman, we settled on our van. We liked the van... it was simple and new and had a warranty. We traded in the Elantra towards our big purchase... although we didn't truly "purchase" this new van, we leased it.

I know. Kick me now. You see, we both knew it wasn't a wise decision. We knew the lease would hurt us somehow but the low payment was too good, at the time, to pass up.

Well, the hurt came today, 5 years later, on another cold, wintery day. We drove our now slightly beat up (backed into a mailbox, backed into Jeremy's car, hit a pole at the movie theater... yeah... a little bit of paint missing in a few places) van to 4 dealerships today. Our lease is ending next month and no one can do a thing for us. We can get a loan on a new van, because we stick to a budget, use our money wisely (minus the lease decision) and have no debt and amazing credit, but no one will take our van. No one. They will take it but at a major hit to us. Which makes purchasing another van a hit because we will have to take a loan for more than our new van is worth.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

I truly left the house this morning thinking that we would be able to do something about our crazy lease and be able to come home feeling better about our vehicle situation but it is not going to happen...

My heart must swing from being set on something new to what we already have in our possession.

I must learn to be content. Happy even with our simple, blue, beat up van. More than happy, thankful.

We will take the hit, purchase our van from the bank and faithfully follow through with a bad financial decision.

I will choose to swing from wanting to being thankful for how much God has blessed us already.

“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.” - Benjamin Franklin

"If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can't buy” - unknown

Nurse, Housekeeper and Accountant

Today, I am a little of all three...

Elayna has the flu bug. Not fun.

Let's just say, I'm not handling the "gross" stuff very well.

And, the middle of the night throwing up? Yeah. I'm not good at that either.

When your six year old says, "Mom, you didn't seem to care that I threw up." because I just sent her to the couch instead of changing the bedding, it might say something about my readiness to face something smelly at 4am.

Because of this sickness, I feel the need to clean, spray and wipe down everything in the house. This sickness has also created an extra amount of laundry. That's why I'm definitely feeling the title of "housekeeper" this morning.

Why an accountant?

I have to admit something... this is starting to have a Not Me! feel too it... I've been very, uhmm, relaxed in the budget department these days.

The bills are paid and the check book is balanced, but my normally to-the-penny budget has been slightly neglected. Well, a lot neglected.

I'm sitting here in the living room with a very tired, sick little girl and watching Grand Champion (a great family film) and working up the courage to face THE BUDGET.

I'm thinking that this looks heavenly compared to my desk and the budget.

Don't you?

*and, yes, that really is my chair in the backyard. I love it.