Sometimes life throws a huge wrench in the gears of your planning. Sometimes, without any action on your part, something happens and you just feel blindsided. Maybe you felt you were just getting by or you were doing really well and suddenly your burdens outweigh your net earnings. Or you simply feel like you have just enough strength and suddenly something extraordinary requires more. Sometimes it's a weekly thing. Or perhaps you've been going through life so smoothly for a few months that you become so relaxed and stop looking for any warning signs. Your parents will live forever, right? Your siblings will outlive you. Or that job has always been around and plenty of other places would hire someone of your capability and caliber, correct? And, as any parent knows, children will outlive their parents - or they should. The thing is, if life has a message attached to it, I would think one possibility for all of us is that message could be "On guard!!" For me, and for so many others, we seem surprised when it happens. The factory shuts down and suddenly our lives are shaken. The child starts to run a fever and suddenly a doctor is explaining "your options". A phone call comes in the middle of the night and your life is suddenly very different. It's not easy being human. It certainly gets easier until it gets harder. After so many years we even feel a little foolish when life throws that wrench at us. How could we have been so "unprepared"? We say things to ourselves such as "I knew things were going a little 'too' good." or "Why would God do this to me right now?" It's just a little coping method our minds develop to try to deal with life as a "reality" rather than some by-product of our conscious choices. For the true secret many of us deny is our choices will never guarantee our lives to remain on any given course. In fact, if I may be so bold, the more choices and course corrections we make tend to make those "reality checks" tougher to swallow. My old economics professor (Mom) used to constantly talk about saving for a rainy day. In fact, if you were to look at her checking account right now (#34765321 at Jerry's Trust and Savings) you would see a positive balance. Financially she's prepared. Or as prepared as she can possibly be. Life has taught her the value of saving. But even she will admit that anything is possible and one day can mean the difference between "living well" and "barely getting by". Like so many other parents of children my age, my parents know what poor is. And, through their choices, have achieved financial security through saving and a little planning. I do remember some pretty lean years growing up and the Christmas trees of childhood usually dwarfed the amount of presents under them on Christmas morning. No matter how many letters I wrote, Santa had to live according to a budget like so many others. But, no matter how tight the money was, my parents still tried to give their children something. I still remember the joy in opening up the neatly wrapped pair of socks. And how could I ever forget the feel of brand new Christmas white undies. My mom, like so many other moms, would use Christmas as an excuse to purchase the necessary things as well as one fun gift. My siblings and I came to understand how much of a sacrifice was required from my parents as we became adults with our own children. But my childhood was in the days before convenient lay-away plans and credit cards. Christmas wasn't even shopped for until after Thanksgiving. Heck, it wasn't even mentioned until after Thanksgiving. The pressure for shopping for Christmas wasn't even mentioned until after the big bird was consumed. If my parents didn't have the money to pay for presents then my siblings and I would just have to go without. We would be sad but we didn't know any other lifestyle. I know my parents wanted to give us the world but they had to live realistically. Even today, with a much larger budget, every Christmas when the Rueuhy's gather for Christmas Eve and snack on snacks and await the "passing of the envelopes" from the parents and my children's grandparents, we still hear "I wish it could have been more". But as I've grown older I realize that the mere fact they are still here, living and breathing, is an abundance of wealth for me and my siblings. Just the fact that we can still gather as a group/family is an abundance of wealth so many others would give all their Christmas presents up for. As I post this posting we will see Christmas of 2013 within 5 days. If I don't receive one of those life altering phone calls I will be a blessed man. If I awake Christmas morning and life remains relatively the same, it will be a glorious morning. If I find no presents under a non-existent tree and my life has not seen any wrenches thrown at it then I will consider myself a richer man for it. And if I can get through the next 5 days without one of those life changing phone calls, and a decently wrapped pair of Christmas socks, then this may be the best Christmas ever. I can say this because I have experienced those phone calls. I have endured holidays after loosing a job. I have gotten the news of a loved one passing away. I do not tell you this to make you feel sorry for me. I only felt it was necessary to add a little perspective on the season. May you find joy this season even if it doesn't seem possible. May good will be your perspective even if life is handing you "good won't". If you have nothing to offer your children or your parents this Christmas season try to remember that the best thing you can really give your loved ones, in the absence of anything else, is love. That's the gift we got a couple of thousand years ago. A baby. A savior. And that's exactly what I wanted for Christmas. My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment