Rubbing Two Pennies Together
I actually did it. Rubbed two pennies together. It felt a little odd, but also comforting. With every little metallic jingle, I thought to myself “at least I have two pennies to rub together!”
But, that’s about all we have.
My husband owns a tile installation business that has taken quite a hit since Christmas. Unfortunately, he hasn’t owned the company long enough to build a bird’s nest, or an egg’s nest, or a nest egg or whatever it’s called.
So, now we are broke. Seriously broke. And a little in debt. Or, honestly, a lot in debt.
But, we do have two pennies. And, I rubbed them together.
Maybe it’ll bring us luck.
It’s hard to imagine that we are poor and living in a house with three bedrooms and wall to wall books and a computer to type on and a blog. I’ll bet movie stars go through this all the time.
I’ve been picking up odd jobs from my friends. I clean a house here, watch a dog there. I think most everyone is looking out for us. My co-worker offered to buy me groceries. We’re beyond embarrassment at this point. (I didn’t take the groceries though. Not yet anyway.)
So, you probably don’t have to guess, but I didn’t imagine my life this way. Not with a kid and an out-and-out scramble to make the bills. I guess I imagined that if I had a kid, I’d also have, uh, assets or something. That’s part of the problem. I imagined. I didn’t plan.
Not well enough.
If I weren’t so confident that something is gonna have to give, that the sky will have to open up and rain down $100 bills on us, then I’d be devastated.
The next thing to go is the internet. And, you know what that would mean.
Let’s not think about it.
So, back to this planning business. I wasn’t really taught to plan. My husband wasn’t taught to plan. Neither of us were taught about money or how to handle it or how to save it or how not to use it when you don’t have it to buy things you don’t need.
(I imagine that Mireille Guiliano would also say that French women don’t incur debt. Yes, yes, we live in the height of gluttony here in the good ole U.S. of A. Moo, again.)
I guess you might say that Paul and I have been throwing caution to the wind, living on the edge of our seats, handling things off the cuff.
We didn’t exactly plan out the whole baby thing. But, that’s a story for another time.
That brings me to the fact that I said that two pennies was about all we had. I thought about going all “that’s not all we have, we have each other” on you–which we do, of course– but it’s hard having each other when you don’t have gas to get to the day care. That’s just lame.
Still, we’re going to pull through.
And, money or no, I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever trade Silas for financial stability.
We just have to find out how to make this work.
Paul is looking for additional employment and is planning to go back to school. (He’s thinking radiology.) I am doing my odd jobs and thinking of ways to make money writing. (I did get accepted by AdSense to start putting advertising on this blog. Just need about 1,000 more readers and I’ll be set.) We’re shopping at Aldi and, dare I say it, Wal-mart and are trying to make regular meals out of rice, pasta, lentils, onions, and PB & J.
But what happens if we don’t make it?
Well, that’s not gonna happen.
Plus, if you like me, you’ll tell your friends about me, and your friends will tell their friends, and their friends will tell their friends and then I’ll be on Oprah like that bitch who traveled around to Italy, India, and Indonesia on her advancement checks.
(For the record, I loved Eat, Pray, Love and I don’t in anyway think that Elizabeth Gilbert is a bitch. She is lucky and awfully pretty, but I don’t hate her. Really, I just wanted to sound bad ass.)
Seriously, I’m sure lots of people go through economic tough times. I know my father’s family did. And, my family did. And, Paul’s family did. Now, Silas’s family did. May the circle be broken.
Anyhow, please eat for us (some scrumptious delicacy), pray for us (or whatever you do in place of praying), and love us (even if you don’t know us– we’re good people).
And, again, I’ll keep you posted.
July 28th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I think we’re all having those regrets and learning how to plan so we can teach our kids. Take those groceries. You need them if you’re breastfeeding. You do.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:29 am
When we were first married, we only had two pennies to rub together too. All our furniture was thrift store or donated to us. I know that can seem like a very unsettling way to live. But I will tell you, God always provided for us. We always had a roof over our head and the food we needed. We didn’t always get all our “wants” (we still don’t!), but we never went without anything we NEEDED. We’ve been married for 17 years now — things are easier, but again, because of God’s provision. I can’t explain it. We just kept praying and working and we always have what we need and thensome.
I am a writer, also … I’d love to chat with you … Don’t know if I could help or not, but I have been a freelance writer for 16 plus years. I’d be happy to give you any info or tips I have. My email is melinda@parentingconfessions.com and my blog is http://parentingconfessions.com.
Good luck with your blog! ;0)