Seasons Change

As I get older I become more and more aware of how much things change and that consistently changing is actually part of who we are and the world we live in. I'm not just talking about the weather, but about the things we do. There are times when I am incredibly organized with my coupons and cut them the second I get them. There are times that I let them pile up for weeks at a time (current season). For a while I was blogging at least once a week...and yet I sit here today blogging for the first time since January.

Seasons change. Life gets busy. I'm trying hard to just go with the flow and let some of the things that just don't matter come and go. I obviously can't choose to go through seasons of personal hygiene or cooking for my family, but there ARE things that just don't matter in the long run. I think blogging has fallen into that category, although I do miss sitting down and typing my thoughts out on my little laptop. So, I'm back for now. I guess we'll see how life goes and how long I'll keep it up this time!

Not only do seasons in our life change, but sometimes we have to unexpectedly change our plans to make things work...

I've been so excited about an upcoming trip to the beach that we've been planning. Actually, I've been BEYOND excited. So excited that if I try hard enough, I can hear the ocean already. I'm from Florida. That should say it all. I grew up at the beach and somehow it's a big part of who I am. It's a place where I can truly relax, think, and rejuvenate. Not only that, but we haven't had a real vacation since right before I got pregnant with Emma. We've moved twice since then and just haven't had the finances to take a trip...until this year, or so I thought.

Our trip to the beach isn't extravagant, but trips require money no matter how frugal you are - unless you're so frugal that you'll camp out or sleep in your car and eat out of trash cans. Needless to say, I'm not THAT frugal. Anyway, our budget is still tight, but with the extra money I've been earning from my shop and the little bit I've managed to save we were headed to the beach in May.

I just said we WERE headed to the beach in May because today I got a statement from the bank concerning our mortgage. I was expecting a letter from the bank, but I wasn't expecting to be told I owed quite so much money. Because we live in a new home we haven't been paying property taxes yet and the bank finally re-evaluated our mortgage and sent us a bill. The point is that we now owe twice as much money as I thought we would and our monthly payments are going up by several hundred dollars too. Both of these things I knew were happening, but my math (or guesswork) was off a bit.

I've been sitting at the computer going through our budget in Excel and the good news is that we can make it all work. The bad news is that we can't make it work AND take a vacation. I'm trying very hard to be an adult and accept this as fact. But I have to admit I'm still in shock and a bit sad. I know that going to the beach isn't part of my survival, but I was so very excited. I haven't been able to get myself to pick up the phone and call the woman I'm renting the condo from to ask for my deposit back just yet. I guess I still have hope that I'll come up with another solution. I should have been better prepared - it certainly isn't the bank's fault. I just have to wrap my brain around the death of such a wonderful trip :)

Dear Lord, thank you that we have a roof over our head and food to eat. Thank you that we are doing so much better than a lot of people are in this country, but can we pleeeease have a vacation in this decade? I really, really need to get away sometime soon. Amen :)