Learning how to be greatful

My hands are killing me today- which isn't a bad thing because it means I have orders.  Orders that will help cover the cost for more yarn (and what hooker doesn't love more yarn??) and profit from these orders will also go to our family Christmas fund and then to an emergency/get out of debt fund.

We don't do anything big, mainly anything spent normally goes to our son. My husband and I try to do little things for each other when we can through the year as neither of us are really into the material things (he asked me this year if i wanted anything and I said more of my Lions Brand Yarn to finish our cuddle blanket for our bed- its a king size... lots of yarn is needed- but otherwise, I normally say no).  We keep it simple. It keeps us from getting too stressed out about buying each others affection. Please bear in mind that I mean no offense to anyone who exchanges gifts with their spouse or significant other. Money is always pretty tight for us, so making any big purchases take a small act of Congress and a lot of planning on our part. 

Little things like making breakfast or letting the other sleep in when there has been a long night or giving the other some peace and quiet through the week are just some of the typical things.  We have gotten a ton of snow over the last couple of days and instead of my hubby cleaning off, warming up and topping off the washer fluids yesterday- I did it. Not because I wanted/needed anything but just because.

It still shocks me when I have to go shopping (I hate it, i'm a crazy deranged freak of nature- unless its a craft store- which is like Barney's for me) and I hear "I have to have this" or "You have to buy this for me, or I'll die".  Last I checked, you probably don't need this and the likelyhood of your dying for not getting the object is slim to none, but you may get trampled to death to make a good sale. I was grocery shopping with the hubby the other night and the buggy and I love to people watch with Buggy but I don't always like the behavior he may pick up from them.

He doesn't always understand when he sees something he wants (he's almost four- shopping in general is a crap shoot with him either it goes well or I want to jump in a well), asks for it and I say no.  I'm always very honest with him about why not now (I never go into too much detail- I don't need to stress him out at all) but I try to set something he can work towards a goal for. Its not foolproof, but it works for us and what I care to explain to him. We don't elaborate on the fact that some days we don't have a pot to tinkle in and some days are feast days. It amazes me though, when we are out to see the amount of parents who aimlessly give and give and give to apease the greed of their children all to make them happy and quiet.

I would hate to be you when your children turn into teenagers and young adults and expect that type of handout from you. Furthermore, they will continuously expect that type of handout from everyone for the rest of their lives. I will state that I had been given almost everything my parents thought I needed and most of the time asked for growing up. I was extremely lucky growing up.  I didn't know hardship or going without until my early 20's. Trust me, its no right of passage to go hungry and you are no better a person to not ask for help to save your ego.  I learned a ton of hard lessons that I was never taught early on but I'm thankful I had the time to do so before having my son.

We are in a better place than we were when he was born, but we are not affluent by any means.  We have food, a roof over our head, utilities are on and we have each other. Our car is used (maintained wonderfully by the Hubby), our clothes are good for what they are- clothes.  I'm not going to be walking in fashion week anytime soon but I'm ok with that, we have heat and food and our Charlie Brown Christmas tree up in our living room. We have each other and each others time to share.

Life has become too hectic, too fast paced and too extravagent for our own good. People feed the need for more all too much without honestly looking at all those things and asking "Do I need it?"

We try to instill this very idea to our son.  Yes we may want it, but do we need it?  Can we live w/o it or is it a necessity?  We learn to go with out not out of wanting to make our lives difficult but in turn fills our lives with something so much more fulfilling.  We truly learn to be greatful for what is in our lives and if it is something we truly want and need, then it is a goal to work towards, not something that is instantly gratifying.  You feel no sense of pride when you can easily get anything you want at a moments notice.  Thats why this blanket I'm making for hubby and I will be wonderful when I do finish it. We will have saved for the yarn and I'll have squirreled away a little bit of extra time to make something we can use all the time.

When I hear people complain that they can't drive a damaged car that has minor cosmetic damage on it because it doesn't look pretty- I want to hit my head against the wall.  The Lord keeps me from doing so and reminds me that everyone has a different perspective on life- some more outlandish than others. I'm leaning to be greatful and thankful for everything, whether great or small, that I have.  I'm learning how to stop craving for mundane material items because they won't enrich my life longterm. He loves us all, plain and simple.

So there is my long winded ramble. This was all spawned by someone I had to speak with this morning who was so upset about have a scratch on her car and not having pretty that she wanted a rental car... every day I hear all different types of quips from people. Today