Just when you think you are getting ahead, the mortgage company calls and says you are behind, the truck blew a tire and you need to replace all of them, and your bag of groceries just cost you $100. Before you know it and your spouse are at each other’s throats because you are feeling the pinch of not having enough in the bank.
I’ve always been the type that doesn’t worry too much about money. I’ve never been rich, but I’ve always had enough. I’ve always been able to do the activities I love, travel a bit, and splurge on a nice meal from time to time. But there comes a point when you find yourself asking….is this it? Am I ever going to be “up there”? Or am I going to perpetually be just “getting by”?
We live in a half-built house. I guess half built is relative. It’s more than half built, but to an outsider who steps in for the first time, it’s a construction site. People are sometimes shocked that we live in it. Its unfinished sheetrock walls and the concrete floors provide enough dust to be regularly air spraying my keyboard and wiping down our makeshift shelves that temporarily hold our dishes and cups. Dog hair piles up against stacks of plywood. Extension cords go every which way in an attempt to provide lighting and power to all areas of the house. This scene most certainly wouldn’t fly in the first world. But then again, in the first world, we could probably go to the bank and get a loan out to finish it. And then we could go to Home Depot and pick out affordable light fixtures. Instead we are chipping away with our own cash, with no set timeline for completion. Hopefully one day soon. But everything costs at least double by the time it gets here, and the bank account dwindles as quickly as its replenished. I miss IKEA, Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I miss filling my house with cheap crap that I probably don’t need. But at least I have the option to do so.
Just because we live in paradise, doesn’t mean it’s easy. At times I believe it’s insurmountably harder. But I try and remember to make the most of it. I try and look past the chaos that surrounds me in my dwelling. And remember that even though it's hard, these challenges only makes you stronger, more resilient, cleverer, and better equipped to handle the next unforeseen circumstance.
We have a unique opportunity to wake up every day, fresh and new, and to make our lives the biggest, best and boldest they can be. Yeah life is hard, but isn't it exciting, and wonderful, and beautiful, too?