Through Hard Times Still Come Good Memories
OK…so it has been a while since we last talked… our apologies for that… it’s simply due to so very much going on. Thinking through recently of what’s been happening all around us we are once again reminded of the economy and how it continues to touch us all in so many different ways.
Many of the challenges that we have faced of late have been at times life-altering. And as happens with many economic challenges these too have trickled down to include our children. While we all have done the best we could to survive and maintain our financial and economic responsibilities, we have all struggled to keep our children and their education out of this pinch. However, as we certainly can attest, it seems that many parents have had to alter the financial support that they provide their children.
We ourselves have struggled with giving our daughter the same allowances that she was allowed just a year ago. She did not have the same budget to work with either and has learned a greater respect for the necessities in life verses the desires. Of course we felt bad at times when the answer was no when she wanted more money for events or trips or t-shirts. However, she also realized that she did not need them to make her happy. She learned to be more creative in finding fun things to do without spending money and she learned that good friends are just there to be with you and you do not need to spend money to have a good time and a lot of laughs. “Roommate night” became something that she and her roommates looked forward to every week. This night consisted of movies, snacks and lots of talking about classes, boys, troubles, boys, clothes, boys, etc. This back-to-basic building of good friendships and honest laughter has given her more than money could buy. It has given her a true feeling of acceptance and belonging. This is something that she will remember her whole life…..Her friends.
Let’s face it, we all forget to just sit and enjoy the people that make up our world. And we forget to take time to laugh, smile or just relax with them. We are all going a million miles an hour and are forced to be involved in so many different things, that it becomes easy to forget how to communicate and just truly enjoy the surroundings that you have in your immediate presence. Money does buy a lot of things, however, we do not remember that last time that a friend sent us a bill for visiting, talking and laughing.
Our daughter is taking an accounting class right now. She struggles a bit with all of the formulas that are required of her to memorize and then need to apply in a required structure; however, what better way to learn the meaning of true accounting when you have to live the budgets and formulas to make your own finances work for you. We must say that she has done well with the budget that we have given her (a mistake here or there and a reminder or two) but overall she has grown in this aspect too. The truth is that when she graduates, she will need more than just “book smarts” to survive. She will be required to make her own financial decisions, her own decisions regarding priorities, her own good choices and her own mistakes.
We helped our children learn to walk once, now our job is to teach them to walk again. They may fall at times and even though we are not there to literally catch them, we will always be there to help them get up again.