People say all the time, "these are the best years of your life!" And most of the time I silently reply, "Well I sure hope that's not the case, because this sure isn't what I want the rest of my life to be like!!!" Part of me understands what they mean... we don't have kids, the biggest financial responsibilities we have are paying our rent and Dan's tuition (don't let this statement fool you, I swear 80% of our income goes to bills of some sort), we are young and in love... etc., etc. The world is our oyster. (can anyone explain this phrase to me? I still don't get it)
Sometimes being poor can wear on a person. Sometimes, I want to go to Ross and actually buy something I see and not feel guilty about it and think about what I'll have to sacrifice in order to make up for this purchase in our budget. Sometimes I just want to go out to eat and not instantly skim the prices for the cheapest menu item. Sometimes I'm really annoyed that we have to fill my car up with oil anytime we drive farther than 10 miles. Sometimes I despise the fact that I work at the most unfulfilling and pointless job on the planet. And sometimes, I'm very ungrateful.
December of 2010, I became friends with a family from Haiti living in Los Angeles, California. The mother and father's first language was French, and they had three little girls- the most beautiful little darlings! The oldest was hoping to be an actress. They were so poor. So poor. They were good people, and had hit a hard time. And they truly were going to have no Christmas.
Two days before Christmas, my companion and I took over several things that our families had sent us- A small Christmas tree, any decorations we had, all of our goodies/treats we'd received from members, anything we could spare. We knocked on their door and the three little girls answered. We told them that we ran into Santa on our way over and that he'd told us to drop off these bags. They squealed in excitement and ran around their tiny apartment in circles! They opened the bags and the oldest girl yelled, "A christmas tree! Mom said we couldn't have one this year!" They continued to go through the bags, gratefully yelling out each item and how amazed they were Santa would bring this to them before it was even Christmas Eve.
The mother didn't speak any English, we always communicated through the girls with her. She was a stern woman and I was never sure how she really felt about us teaching her family about the gospel. But that day, I could see in her eyes relief, and an understanding that she knew we loved their family. The mother gave us a humble "thank you" in English and my companion and I left on our way.
That experience changed my life forever. And when I think about it, I realize just how blessed I am. I so blessed to even have a car with working heat/AC and gets good gas mileage. I'm so lucky to have a job that I don't have to work Sundays and allows Dan to have 1/2 off his tuition. And let's be honest, Dan complains weekly that I'm taking over his side of the closet and that I have too many clothes... hey a girl can't help it. I have much to be grateful for.
My Christmas Movie List:
Mickey's Once Upon A Christms- never seen
Christmas Vacation- never seen
A Christmas Story- never seen
Home Alone 1 & 2- classics!
The Grinch (Cartoon and Movie)- love!
Elf- must see!
The Santa Claus- love!
The Family Stone- quite enjoy
Miracle on 34th Street- all time favorite!
Polar Express- love!
Jack Frost- haven't seen in years
White Christmas- only seen once!
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer- haven't seen in years
Love it Meg!! It's hard not to get sucked into feeling miserable! I feel the same way about being so dern poor, with the same dern guilt trips. This is such a nice reminder to feel grateful! (plus that story about the family on your mission almost made me cry, it touched me that much! So thank you!)
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