Skip to main content

So Long, Money

(anyone want to guess how much is shown in the photo?)

Now that it's not sitting on my bed anymore, let's talk about money.

I am not used to handling large amounts of money. I don't particularly like handling large amounts of money. It is strange to walk home from the bank with almost half my yearly salary in my purse. It is strange to be responsible for the precise accounting of said money. Being in charge of the money was probably the most stressful part of my recent trip to the UK.

Three weeks later, with the leftover cash safely in the bank, the largest cheque I have ever written ready to return it to its proper owners, and a budget that is finally and happily balanced, I am relieved to wash my hands of it all.


I've realized that I don't really care about money. I mean, obviously, it matters. I need to live. I like to buy things - mostly clothes and music and experiences. But money is not something that excites me. So long as I am paying my bills, it's not something that makes me feel happy. The thought of having more than I do right now actually stresses me out. Because then I'd be accountable for using and saving and doing right by it.

More money = more responsibility. And while I don't agree with the extremes they take it to, I think MxPx was on to something...

Comments

Wendy said…
It was budget finishing day for project, huh? I hate cost accounting with the force of a thousand winds. Every time some expects me to balance a budget, we seem to end of disagreeing and in serious conflict. Blech.

You're clearly a better human being than I am. And you know? I'm comfortable with that.
7:07 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fostering FAQ: How Can You Say Goodbye?

It seems I finally have something(s) to say... Here's the first in a short (or maybe long?) series on Fostering FAQs. If you've got a question to add, feel free to comment/email/text/message me and maybe the next post will be in response.

--

8:30 am on Day 4 of parenting. I woke up in a panic two hours ago because I remembered that there is a baby and I am responsible for her (at least at 6:30am, when the man beside me will snore through anything). Now, I have put on clothes and eaten breakfast. The dogs are walked, there is a loaf of banana bread in the oven. My tea is steeping. Most importantly, Dream Baby is already down for her first nap.

Despite my morning efficiency, I'm already beginning to see that even with the happiest, most easygoing, and smiliest baby, like we somehow managed to be given, parenting is a grind. On Friday night, I couldn't join friends for $5 pints at a local joint. Instead, I blearily washed the same 8 bottles again, and then made another ba…
7 comments
Read more

Fostering FAQ: How Long Will She Stay/Will You Adopt Her?

Our first foster baby came with about 18 hours notice; it was respite care, which means we had him for a few days while his regular foster family had a break/dealt with a family emergency. He stayed 3 nights, long enough to come to church and have a dozen people cooing over his little sleeping cheeks.  With each new visitor to our quiet corner, I explained again that he would be going back to his foster family the next day.

Barely a week later, we got a 9am phone call with a fostering request and by the same afternoon, we were snuggling her. This time, we had her for 4 days before church came around. Again, our community was keen to see the little one we had in tow. Again, the question, "How long will she stay?" And this time, "Are you going to adopt her?"

--

Here in Toronto, when a child is placed in foster care, it is always for an indefinite length of time. It depends on the parents' situation, and whether they are able to make a safe home environment for th…
Post a Comment
Read more

Fostering FAQ: What's Her (Mom's) Story?

This is probably the second most common question I hear about the baby currently in our care, right after, "Will you keep her?"

It comes in many forms:

"So, what's her story?"
"Is her mom in the picture?"
"How did she end up in your home?
"Is her mom a drug addict?"
"How could a mom not love such a cute baby!"

I get it. It's natural curiousity, and I know I've asked similar questions of my friends who are adoptive parents.


But here's what I'm learning: a child's story is their own. And equally as important, the parent's story is their own.

Imagine how it might feel to hear that for the foreseeable future, you are not allowed to care for your child. On top of whatever difficult circumstances you are already in - perhaps poverty, social isolation, lack of adequate housing, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma, drug or alcohol dependency, low cognitive functioning, or a myriad of other complex strug…
2 comments
Read more