"According to our estimates, you're screwed" is printed on the envelope of my annual Social Security statement-- at least, it seems that way. In addition to paying into Social Security, as a public school teacher I am also required to contribute to my state's pension fund to the tune of 6% (and you feel the dedication of 6% of a salary that is already below market, believe me). However, I think by the time that pension comes due for me the benefits will have been whittled down to a monthly coupon mailer and a few Band Aids for healthcare.
There's something about New Year's Eve looming that makes one reflect on finances and (if you can believe the ads that run at this time of year) buy a lot of plastic storage containers. Perhaps it's just that tax season is around the corner, or perhaps it's the one time of year that Americans generally agree to pause for self-improvement, but I have been trying to trim my budget. I thought I was making some progress when I traded in my $80/month smart phone for a stone age, pay-as-you-go flip phone (around $25/month). Then the bills started rolling in for my son's recent emergency room trip, which will total hundreds in co-insurance. So there you have it, it's hard to get ahead; at least, it feels that way.
Personal finance and investing have always fascinated me, although largely, I must admit, as an almost purely academic topic since there is nothing left by the time I pay bills, pay the land payment for our small farm (my real investment), and pay hundreds in after school care for my sons. However, I read finance books and magazines with a great deal of interest. I keep visualizing myself as having lots of resources-- enough to care for my family, travel, and to move an historic African American school building (see www.underthekudzu.org) to our property and restore it. I want to create a cultural/agricultural education center, so I do pray for prosperity. What usually happens when I pray for abundance, however, is that someone gives me a box of kittens. Perhaps I need to be more specific!
The garden catalogs come thick and fast this time of year as well. Their outer covers seem to say "Ordering seeds and a few new fruit trees is one pleasure even a teacher can afford." If I can't foresee what will happen with Social Security or my state pension fund, at least I can grow more food. As an added bonus, I am too lazy and cheap to apply synthetic chemicals to my garden, so within the confines of our kitchen I call our produce "organic," making it feel more valuable. It's one instance when less is definitely more.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Pajamathon 2012: The Speed of Life
We are well into our Pajamathon tradition for this year. Pajamthon begins right after we get home from Christmas Eve mass, when we change into fuzzy lounging clothes, continues through Christmas Day (complete with presents and dinner), and ends...? Well, it may end a tad early this year, if only because I have to herd the boys into the car and drive up to the small town library just north of here to return a book that's long overdue. That was just one of the things that got away from me this fall.
There is a lot to be said for being at home, especially since, during a normal work week I'm not home that much. That's because we leave here at 7:15 am and often don't return until 6 pm or later... so during the school year much of my gardening and animal tending is done in the dark, either before the sun comes up or later in the evening. The law of unintended consequences operates at full force at these times, I find, such as when I flip the light on in the barn shop only to see a fat possum gorging itself on cat food. Then it looks up and hisses. Yuck!
Right now a weak afternoon sun is coming through bare trees, it rained most of the day so this is actually an improvement. The boys are spreading Legos in a nice, even layer over the entire living room floor, but that is preferable to me than having them play video games. (Actually, that is what we do best as a family: Cover the floor with small, sharp objects.)
I am so grateful for my family and my home. Every day I think about how fortunate we are to have each other, a home, space in the country (which I first purchased, in typical North Carolina fashion, as some land with a single wide house trailer on it). There is no glitz with this, no glamour associated with getting my sons to collect eggs with me, or pick the winter lettuce that I grow in a raised bed under an old storm window. Walking a dog can't compare with the constant siren call to "Party!" that emanates from every music video. As if, for some people, the gyrating, drinking and gold jewelry never end. In one sense they are right, it doesn't ever end, because when you live at the mercy of your emotions and the constant need for something new, you are never content. I hope and pray that my sons will imprint on something slower and more meaningful, that they will grow up to be parents who stage Pajamathons of their own. The Lord didn't say, chase after every new video game and designer purse. He said: Be still and know that I am God.
There is a lot to be said for being at home, especially since, during a normal work week I'm not home that much. That's because we leave here at 7:15 am and often don't return until 6 pm or later... so during the school year much of my gardening and animal tending is done in the dark, either before the sun comes up or later in the evening. The law of unintended consequences operates at full force at these times, I find, such as when I flip the light on in the barn shop only to see a fat possum gorging itself on cat food. Then it looks up and hisses. Yuck!
Right now a weak afternoon sun is coming through bare trees, it rained most of the day so this is actually an improvement. The boys are spreading Legos in a nice, even layer over the entire living room floor, but that is preferable to me than having them play video games. (Actually, that is what we do best as a family: Cover the floor with small, sharp objects.)
I am so grateful for my family and my home. Every day I think about how fortunate we are to have each other, a home, space in the country (which I first purchased, in typical North Carolina fashion, as some land with a single wide house trailer on it). There is no glitz with this, no glamour associated with getting my sons to collect eggs with me, or pick the winter lettuce that I grow in a raised bed under an old storm window. Walking a dog can't compare with the constant siren call to "Party!" that emanates from every music video. As if, for some people, the gyrating, drinking and gold jewelry never end. In one sense they are right, it doesn't ever end, because when you live at the mercy of your emotions and the constant need for something new, you are never content. I hope and pray that my sons will imprint on something slower and more meaningful, that they will grow up to be parents who stage Pajamathons of their own. The Lord didn't say, chase after every new video game and designer purse. He said: Be still and know that I am God.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Peace Came Down at Christmas
It is a difficult year to say "Merry Christmas", haunted as we are by the children and adults who lost their lives in the senseless shooting in Newtown. I have been praying for the families of the victims, as I think most of us have. Praying that God will envelope them with His healing love. As for the victims themselves, we know God is holding them in the palm of His hand, with infinite love and care. Their souls He has doubtless already healed. It is the ones who are left behind who suffer and mourn.
It is not enough to say, this time, that this event only leads us to appreciate our own families all the more. It is not enough just to take this occasion to be grateful for our own children. It is not enough because the murders struck at the heart of all that is good and orderly, in the only place where we still come together as a society, the one place where we should be able to assume that children are safe. For many people school is the only common civic endeavor we undertake. Perhaps that is why schools have become a target (although it's difficult to know, because it's difficult to understand the twisted motivations of a mass murderer).
As a teacher in a title one middle school, I am acutely aware of all the possible pitfalls that happen inside of a school-- perhaps a jacket is stolen, or a rumor starts that makes a child cry. A fight may even erupt. One thing we don't expect is for an armed person to come in and create mayhem and tragedy. Even while we're adjusting to this threat, we need to ask ourselves what what we can do to counteract the spiritual chaos that created it. Yes, we need protective measures, increased security, heightened awareness. Yet what are we doing to counteract the root cause, the sense of isolation and hopelessness that young people may develop?
It's not enough just to excise the cancer, we need to strengthen our whole civic body. Volunteer your time at your house of worship, or a local school/mentor program. If you garden or care for animals, pull children into your activities. Don't allow your own children to be isolated. Reach out to families you know who are stressed by circumstances. Encourage children and teenagers when they do good and creative things. Help your town to expand arts programs and recreational sports facilities. Even in these tough fiscal times, encourage your legislators to vote for increased mental health and youth program funding.
Most of all, I think, we need to seek God's guidance in this and all things. Early each morning, before I pack my kids' lunches and begin the whole hectic morning routine that lands them in one school and me in another, I pray "God, help me to know Your will for me, and help me to do it. Bless those who suffer, Lord, and bless those who mourn. Enfold them in Your peace. Help me to be a blessing to my family, my students, and my community. Make me a channel of Your love and Your peace. Amen."
It is not enough to say, this time, that this event only leads us to appreciate our own families all the more. It is not enough just to take this occasion to be grateful for our own children. It is not enough because the murders struck at the heart of all that is good and orderly, in the only place where we still come together as a society, the one place where we should be able to assume that children are safe. For many people school is the only common civic endeavor we undertake. Perhaps that is why schools have become a target (although it's difficult to know, because it's difficult to understand the twisted motivations of a mass murderer).
As a teacher in a title one middle school, I am acutely aware of all the possible pitfalls that happen inside of a school-- perhaps a jacket is stolen, or a rumor starts that makes a child cry. A fight may even erupt. One thing we don't expect is for an armed person to come in and create mayhem and tragedy. Even while we're adjusting to this threat, we need to ask ourselves what what we can do to counteract the spiritual chaos that created it. Yes, we need protective measures, increased security, heightened awareness. Yet what are we doing to counteract the root cause, the sense of isolation and hopelessness that young people may develop?
It's not enough just to excise the cancer, we need to strengthen our whole civic body. Volunteer your time at your house of worship, or a local school/mentor program. If you garden or care for animals, pull children into your activities. Don't allow your own children to be isolated. Reach out to families you know who are stressed by circumstances. Encourage children and teenagers when they do good and creative things. Help your town to expand arts programs and recreational sports facilities. Even in these tough fiscal times, encourage your legislators to vote for increased mental health and youth program funding.
Most of all, I think, we need to seek God's guidance in this and all things. Early each morning, before I pack my kids' lunches and begin the whole hectic morning routine that lands them in one school and me in another, I pray "God, help me to know Your will for me, and help me to do it. Bless those who suffer, Lord, and bless those who mourn. Enfold them in Your peace. Help me to be a blessing to my family, my students, and my community. Make me a channel of Your love and Your peace. Amen."
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