Yes, I said that right!! It seems like lately, at least in our home life, it’s been that way. We’ll celebrate 10 years of marriage this year, and a lot has changed in those years. When we got married we were very young, dumb, and deliriously happy. Our wedding day marked an accomplishment of sorts. We were totally that couple that no one thought would make it. We were a fad almost. We didn’t fit together, seemed to have almost nothing in common, and our love story really came out of nowhere and made no sense. 10 years later, we’re still here, more in love, and happier than ever! While our relationship has grown, and so have we as people, we’ve faced lots of challenges (like every marriage) along the way. I guess, I’m just more frustrated with the challenges facing us today, than I have ever been.
No soapbox here (we’ll save that for later in the post). I’m frustrated because we did everything “right.” We fell in love, abstained from sex until after marriage (yes, that’s right world….it’s possible to do! I was virgin until my honeymoon night, and I will forever be proud of that!!!), got married, found decent (for our area of the world) jobs, and then had a kiddo. The “correct” order of things. So, someone please tell me why, we can’t seem to get ahead at all!! We decided early in our marriage that we wanted more for ourselves than our parents had, and more for our children than we had. No, that doesn’t mean “things” per say. We just wanted better. We wanted that day when we weren’t living paycheck to paycheck. When we had a nest egg, something to fall back on. We had a plan. I would work (full time) while he worked (part time) and went to school to become a police officer. When the time came, he would return me the favor. He worked full time as did I, while we put me through nursing school. Every night when I would drag in from work and start my never ending homework and studying we would remind ourselves that “our time” was coming. The light we saw, really was the end of the tunnel, and not a train!!! Once I got my “dream job” as a nurse, I would finally be making more than minimum wage, and we could finally start DIGGING ourselves out of a hole we’d spent 8 years building!!
Fast forward to today. UGH!! Here we are. Making more $ than we ever have, but we still can’t seem to dig out of that hole. I HATE DEBT!! I really do! It drives me insane. Some people say you’ll never have anything in life without debt. I disagree! It’s possible, I just haven’t really figured out how yet. I was soooo close to being essentially (other than our mortgage) debt free!! Did you hear that?? DEBT FREE!!! I could see that day within my reach…..not anymore! In the last 6-8 months my car died and wasn’t repairable, so now I have a new car payment (new payment, not new car). Greg managed to fail to read the fine print and took a “free” class to be a personal trainer. Well, the class didn’t end up being "free" if you didn’t take your licensure exam, now we have a $4000 debt to pay thanks to that! Our (struggling) central heat/air that came with our home, stopped struggling and DIED. Hello to another $2600 debt. This week Greg went for his Lasik surgery consult, and we got the news that on surgery day we had to write a check for $4200, and it looks as if it’s time to re-roof our house (and it can’t be delayed too long) YAY (sarcasm) $5000 more!! Add all that to the mountain of medical bills from this crazy battle with infertility and I feel like we’re drowning!
Okay, before you people start screaming at me, let me say this….We are incredibly blessed! Far beyond what we deserve. We both have jobs that we enjoy and the health and strength to go to them everyday. We have a roof (although it needs replacing) over our heads, clothes on our backs, food in our stomachs, wonderful friends, a fantastic family, and enumerable blessings!! I know how blessed I am!! I just wish that from the bottom of this hole I’ve found myself in, that those blessing were easier to count than the bills that keep coming!! Somehow we'll manage all this newfound debt. We’ll come out on the other end, praising God for His blessings and the ability to conquer such a giant!! In the meantime, I’ll wallow a little!!
I really don’t’ think I’d be quite as frustrated if this economy and society made more sense. Why is it that those of us who are actually attempting to be productive, participating, contributing members of society, seem to be the ones struggling so much today? While so many live the ‘high life” off the system!! No mortgage because HUD is paying for their homes, no power bill because DSS is offsetting that cost, no insurance payments because Medicaid is covering that bill, no groceries to buy because they have food stamps, no job to go to and no worries as long they can draw unemployment!!! Greg and I know people/have family members/friends who are leaches to society, but for some reason,to them, this behavior is okay. They have no drive, no desire to be better, they don’t want more for themselves or their child(ren). They are content with us (and the rest of most of you) going to work, and funding the system that allows them their freedom from responsibility!! **SOAP BOX ALERT!!** Get up, get off your tail, get a job, and become a productive member of society! (Disclaimer: For those of you who are blessed enough to be stay at home mommies….I am by no means talking to you!! You aren’t societal leaches, but quite the opposite. You are forging a path for a more moral, structured world!! Kudos to you!! :) ) And attention to all the other family members/friends that continue to enable these leaches!! Your actions will no longer be tolerated either. You are just as guilty as if you’d bought the crack for the crack addict, or the beer for the alcoholic. It’s not okay!! And saying that you’re “proud” of the sucky decisions that they’ve made recently not only upsets me, but literally turns my stomach!! You wanna be proud! Be proud of my hubby and his decisions!! He’s working everyday, 2 jobs (police and National Guard) and is getting ready to be deployed! Yeah, that’s right….fighting for our freedom! Not sitting at home, watching TV, drawing a check and benefits that in my opinion are no longer due you!! **OFF SOAP BOX**
Whew…..that post was heavy, huh?? I’ve probably upset a few of you, and if so….I’m sorry!! I just really needed to vent!! Thanks for listening. I feel much better now :) Off to bed! Working tonight!!
Is there a "standing ovation" button on this thing??? If there were, I would definately be clicking it!!!!
ReplyDeleteLook into refinancing your mortgage. My uncle just did his for a 3.25% fixed rate. You could tie in some of these odd bills & not even effect your payment!! Just a thought...