Holidays

Welcome to the Holiday Season.

Wait???. What!! You mean you haven't noticed since October how the greenery has been creeping his way into the seasonal sections at your local stores.

Guess what? It is here.

So why do we call it the "Holiday Season?" Isn't that just a nice way of saying "Welcome to Winter," which unlike the Holidays, we are not looking forward to. Welll, maybe the kids are.

For many, the Holidays are a good thing. Time with family and friends. Time to be thankful for what we have and eager to give to those we care about and even those who are less fortunate.

But for me, that isn't quite the case.

For me this is a time of the year where I hope that there is overtime at work so that I can afford to pay for Christmas presents for the dozen or so people that are in my family, based on how we prefer to do Christmas.

Most people don't know this but finances are tight. Very tight.

I look for sales and for cheap gifts without being too cheap, just so that it doesn't cause me more stress.

My husband has just started to learn how stressful it is for me to budget our household income. That is why he is taking over starting Jan 1. Which I am very thankful for. I get very disheartened when he asks to buy coffee once a week and I have to tell him no. Now he will understand better.

But then I hear the stories of co-workers and some of their associates. Without getting into specifics, I learned that despite how hard they try, between having children and some with no children, that they don't have money, after all of their bills, for anything more than gas for their car and simple and cheap groceries. And what I mean by that is a pack of hot dogs and buns for lunch for a week. Or a bag of salad for dinner for a week.

I never had to eat like that when I was little and I can't imagine doing so now.

I complain to Matt about getting a full time job, because it would give us some more buffer room and we could pay down some of our loans faster. If only wishing made it so.

Then I put myself in someone else's shoes. Then I realize that with Matt's part time check that he basically pays the bill for the groceries so that we don't have to eat hot dogs and salad all the time. Then I am more greatful than I can image.

It is a sad thing to imagine. But I am happy with where I am at right now that makes my like enjoyable for me. I can only hope that it just gets better from here.

Thank you to all my friends and family for being there for us and spending time with us when nothing else was in our budget to do. We really enjoy it and appreciate your time with us.

 Happy Holidays all!