When I was little I always thought the song said "even though I hate that money, I'm so in love with ya honey..."
It didn't make sense. Who in their right mind would hate money? And then I thought about it for a while (well, off and on over the course of a few years). Maybe having lots of money can be detrimental to a relationship? I pondered this every time I thought of the song and came to believe that whoever wrote the song was someone better than most, someone who saw money as the root of all evil, someone who wasn't caught up in the materialism of our times. I thought about how awesome it would be to love someone in spite of all their money. It would be like the best of both worlds...You could be all righteous and technically not want to be given lavish gifts, but you'd have to graciously accept them in the name of love. win. win.
It was disappointing to find out I had been wrong about the lyrics.
But the real lyrics are more applicable to my reality, and maybe this kind of love is even better. With a commission based job we have our highs and we have our lows, and we have learned to ride it out. I feel safe in what we have, no matter the size of our bank account. And It's been interesting to cut back, simplify, and get creative as we come together to make things work. We laugh together that our "date nights" consist of a redbox movie and leftover halloween candy when the kids are in bed. Maybe we should be more stressed than we are, but until we really need to be we'll just do what we can and get on with it. Kev's a fun man to be poor with and as our income dwindles my love for him grows. He is an amazing father and husband and as we go through this current slump, his kindness and optimism make me know that everything is gonna be all right. no matter what.
Natalie, I love the way you write. It's like you put into words what I always think and feel as a mom. I really liked this post. As we are beginning our first of four years of dental school, I realize that money isn't something I'll have for a long time. We've been in school forever, we'll be in school for what still seems like forever, and then after that, there's the paying off of the debts we are incurring now. Thanks for reminding me that these are the good times!
ReplyDeleteI just love your blog.
You know you have a rockin' marriage when you can ride out the good and stressful times.
ReplyDeleteMoney stresses me out!