In the wake of this economic downturn, everyone has felt the financial strain to a degree. People are having to pull back on their spending, take less trips, eat in more often than out, and cut down on their shopping. Some people have lost their houses, cars, jobs, and some have lost everything.
As much as I despise many aspects of the military...I have to be positive about the "perks", but in all honesty, I don't think people realize how little we actually make. I try not to dwell on that, but sometimes the child in me has a hard time being happy for others that are able to do more and jealousy gets the best of me. I get jealous when I see the wonderful things that others can afford to do for their kids, and take trips, and make memories...but I have to pinch myself and realize that that's not what life is all about. When you give your child everything, they will always expect it. I've done my best to give my children everything they need, and yes to a degree they are spoiled, they don't (well, shouldn't) want for anything. They have a mommy and a daddy that care about them, they have a nice house to live in, a vehicle that fits us all, and insurance to cover their (many) sicknesses. When the holidays come around, I always have the hardest time stepping back and looking at what I have and realizing that I have all I need. There are so many others that don't have what I have so I need to just be grateful. So that's my goal, I'm not doing any Christmas shopping this year (sorry if you were expecting anything from me!!), I'm not going to give in to the sales and get my girls everything they want. I'm going to give them a life lesson.
We've been very fortunate to be a part of a wonderful program that has given us the opportunity to be adopted. I got a call from the organization that adopted us and as she was telling me all they were going to do, I just cried...and cried....and cried. These people don't even know me, don't know my children. They have families of their own to support and do Christmas for, but they are helping me and my family. I'm so overwhelmed with so many different emotions about it, but above all, I am grateful. SO GRATEFUL!! At first, I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want people to look down on me because we're poor, but you know what, we all go through hard times. This is no reason to judge me, this is not something that we saw coming. We are just a family struggling. It is by the grace of God and a wonderful family that we are "staying afloat".
One day, my girls will look back and wont remember that they may not have gotten every single thing they wanted for Christmas but they will have so many fond memories of family and times spent together and you know what, thats fine with me. I don't remember everything I got for Christmas as a child, but I remember singing with my family at church, I remember going to the grandparents and eating together and just laughing and playing and having great times. That's what I vow to give my kids and I hope that it is a tradition that they can carry on.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I love that post Meagan! You are exactly right. We don't remember all of the gifts that we received. Most of them were broken or lost within a couple of weeks. It's way more important for us to teach our children that life is not about material things. Don't worry about sharing your financial situation. God wants us to live transparent lives. From the look of things, I think that you are doing a great job with your girls. They all look very happy and are lucky to have a great mother like you! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
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