Up Early Again!

One of my favorites wrote about her attiude to money this morning and that got me thinking about mine. My father was a police officer in England and they were not paid well. We never had money and I remember I was about 12 before I  got a bicycle and even then it was a second-hand one. Mind you, I never felt deprived and I never went hungry. It was just that there was no money for extras. When my sister and I were sent to boarding school, it was my Auntie George{ina} who paid the fees. But having said that, when my mother finally left for the last time, my father managed to pay the fees for the three years my sister had left and the one year I had left.

I am very uncomfortable if I don’t have a little stashed away for emergencies because they always happen. During the years I was a single mother, I worked two jobs. Much of this was sheer stubborness. I was aware that studies show that many single mothers lose their houses and very very often descend into poverty. I was determined that was not going to happen to me. So, I worked all day with the seventh graders and then from 4 to 10 five days a week, I worked at Waldenbooks {a chain bookstore}. Of course, I was fortunate in that I had a great baby sitter , the 10th grade daughter of a neighbor. Tanya would walk to my house, look after Jake–and she played imaginative games with him, not parked him in front of the television–and when I got home at about 11pm her father or mother would be at my house to walk home with her! As a side note, when I was ready to sell my house, Tanya and her husband bought it and I gave her a very good price!

When you are a parent, it is axiomatic that the children come first. So I spent years and years having no money to spend on myself. I didn’t feel ill-treated. This is how it was. Children need clothes and shoes and birthday parties  and I was glad to be able to do it but I had to work quite hard at first when my last child left home not to feel guilty spending money on myself! I am a quick learner–I have no trouble spending money on things I want to do these days!  And, of course, both Fred and I have a little extra squandering money since we share living expenses from an account to which we both have access and to which we contribute equal amounts.

Ok, on with the day. I have had toast but not my coffee so that will be next. When Fred gets up, I will pack my bag since I printed out my Packing List for England last night. {I also have one for when I visit my children in Mississippi, too. Although you would never know it by looking at my desk, in some ways I am quite well organized.}

 Until later..

 Number of Steps on the pedometer for yesterday: 10501

Woo Hoo!