Have you ever thought about what makes us truly happy? Is it material things like traveling, cars, houses, etc. Or is it family and friends? When are us most happy? What does it mean to be truly happy?
I think happiness comes with being stress free. What does it take to be stress free? For me it is a happy family life, a great job, no debt, no medical issues, etc. I have the happy family life. It has been a very long journey, starting 19 years ago. There have been some rough bumps along the way, but we have made it full circle. I'm working on the great job. I haven't found the "ideal" job. I always think the perfect job is no job at all! Financially independent would be awesome. We are working our way down to no debt, that takes time. Knock on wood, for now we are medically pretty well.
Other things that would make me happy, like everyone else, are the material things. I would love to travel with the family. I would love to have season tickets to football, basketball, or some other sport. I would love to go to concerts, musicals, plays, etc. whenever I choose to. I would love to go shopping whenever I wanted and to buy whatever I wanted. I know there are people who live like that, but I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
I was born to a pig farmer and a nurse. I came from a tiny town and lived on a farm. My dad died when I was six years old and that made things a little tight. We always got what we needed though. My two sisters and I got most of our clothes when we were really young from used clothing stores, but we had a great time trying them all on and choosing what we liked. We had a wood burning furnace in our basement and chopped our own wood and hauled it down the basement every winter. Things got better after my two sisters had left home and I was the only one left. My mom bought a brand new Mustang when I was a freshman in high school and gave it to me. I was very lucky and loved that car. I picked my first prom dress out of "Seventeen Magazine". I went to a private college that was very expensive.
Once you get married and have kids of your own, you realize how expensive it is running a household. So many bills to pay - the cellphone, the heat, the electricity, etc. It opens your eyes to what your parents went through. When my husband and I first got married we moved to Denver, Colorado. We got into a lot of credit card debt trying to live well. We ate out a lot, went shopping a lot and did a lot of activities such as skiing, traveling, joining a gym, etc. We learned quickly how stupid that was.
You always want to give your kids the best and what they want. We buy our kids clothing labels like Hollister, Aeropostale, American Eagle, etc. We finally got our daughter her first car, after she had her license for a year. Our son has been on traveling basketball teams requiring a lot of travel out of state. We have had to make sacrifices a long the way. My husband works very hard, long hours. I try to help out by working 3 jobs. We do it for our kids. We do it out of love, simply put.
Someday I hope it all gets a little easier. Having a little extra money would be nice. Our kids are old enough to work now and make their own money. At 17 and 13, they both opened checking accounts recently. It's weird when your kid has their own debit card and checkbook. You realize how mature they are getting. They pay for their own clothes. My daughter pays for her own gas. It was my daughter's birthday, so my son writes her a check for $20.
I think it's ok to have nice things and to get to do things, but we must always remember that the most important thing is family. Having each other and loving each other. It doesn't get any better than that. I believe you truly know what this is when you have to go through some tough times together. Our family has been through some tough times and have bonded because of these times. You appreciate things you take for granted when you no longer have them. If we were given everything, we wouldn't appreciate them. When you save for things and wait for what you want, you love it even more.
I guess my message is enjoy life and the material things, but treasure the ones you love even more. Don't forget the most important things in life.
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