Last year, my income was off significantly from the previous year. The impact was keenly felt, and while I know I'm luckier than some because I can still pay my bills, it isn't something I care to go through again this year. As a country, I know we're supposed to spend, spend, spend our way out of this recession, but I opted instead to pay off debt once and for all and to build my reserves up. Steve and I are working hard toward that end, and it has resulted in some significant lifestyle changes around the house. Surprisingly, I find the changes are not unpleasant.
For instance, I've long been guilty of letting food go to waste. My years as a single mom caused a bit of a hoarding disorder where groceries are concerned. Back when I was selling houses and commissions were unpredictable at best, I had a constant fear of being unable to provide for the kids, so I'd stock up on food whenever I got a check. If the pantry started to look sparse, I'd have panic attacks and would lay awake at night worrying I wouldn't be able to take care of my family. Those terrifying thoughts never completely left me, and even now in my secure life, my brain won't stop to remember that a grocery store sits only a mile and a half from my home and there's no reason to stockpile food as if I'm anticipating a large-scale natural disaster.
Another benefit to tighter times is my rediscovery of the local library. For the past few years, it has become a habit of our family to settle in at the local Barnes and Noble for a few hours in the evening and peruse books while we nosh on expensive pastries and coffee beverages. I reasoned that even though this was a costly activity, it wasn't any more pricey than taking the family to the movies for an evening, and we left with tangible evidence of our visit in the form of books. My newer and more frugal budget demanded that I forgo the spendy visits to the "for profit" library.
The library nearest my house was recently renovated and based on the crowds there, ours is not the only family to opt for a more budget conscious form of entertainment. I'm delighted at the technology associated with my library card these days. I spent one evening at my laptop transferring my Amazon Wish List, New York Times Book reviews, Oprah's magazine and Wall Street Journal recommendations into my library wish list. As the titles become available, I am notified with a phone call to pick them up. I've discovered some amazing books using this system, and have quickly returned tomes that I was surprised to learn had no appeal for me.
The downside to the borrowing system is that my hoarding instincts tend to kick in. I currently have two dozen books checked out. My eyes are bigger than my stomach, in a literary sense.
Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone
This book was so good, I plan to order it from Amazon. I've already renewed it once, and I don't think I can bear to return it until I have a copy of my own. This is one of those delightful books that satisfies my love of essays and recipes. Sublime. Isn't the cover gorgeous? It was the rich color that caught my eye when Amazon's algorithm recommended it for me. In a rare fit of boldness, I had our front door painted that lovely shade of purple this summer. I don't know how to thank Amazon for the dual benefit of their wisdom.
Floating off the Page: The Best Stories from the Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column"
Essays and short stories satisfy my need for a quick fix in waiting rooms, while filling up at the gas station or the need to kill a few minutes waiting for an appointment at a restaurant. I've been a Wall Street Journal subscriber for years; I appreciate the professional edge I get by scanning it each morning and the superior writing displayed on every page. I noted this referral in my Palm several years ago, and was pleasantly surprised to find it on the shelves during my first return visit to the library back in January.
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination
This book came to my attention courtesy of Oprah's Reading Room. I'm not giving up any spoilers by revealing the memoir is the author's retelling of her first pregnancy resulting in a stillborn son. I stayed up until 2 AM reading this, and awoke four and a half hours later to finish it. It's gripping and devestating yet left me with the feeling that I had been granted a...privileged glimpse into the most intimate sorrow a family can experience.
On the flip side, I'm grateful I had no financial investment in M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf, which I found annoyingly pretentious. Likewise, I'm not enjoying Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits nearly as much as I hoped. I blame his exceptional Travel Channel series which backs up his sardonic narration with exquisite cinematography in high definition. Still, I kick myself for not hoofing it up to the Mall of America a few months ago to get Tony's autograph on a copy of this book or one of his others.
This economy is a nightmare for many, I don't mean to diminish it. I'm trying to find the silver lining in the bleakness and to once again enjoy simple pleasures. I am so grateful for my family and all that we have, and I hope to take away lasting lessons from this period in our lives. I suspect that an entire nation will.
