Parking

I would like to see more parking spaces reserved for parents with small kids. How many times have parents had to run the parking lot gauntlet? You’re dodging cars, chasing your kids, and the tighter you grip their little hands the more they pull. In bad weather? Ugh.

Here’s the thing, drivers can’t see kids, they’re too short. And, they’re too quick. When I see a mom with an infant and a little kid in tow – I think, “for God’s sake, she shouldn’t have to walk from Lot Z with her kids. ”

I only know of one store that has marked parking for parents with infants and small kids….Stop and Shop. Bravo.

Unemployment and Marriage

I Googled Unemployment and Marriage.  The combination did not produce the results I wanted.  So, I typed Unemployment and Relationships.  Again, not quite what I was looking for.  It seems Google can’t read my mind…yet.

But I have been wondering about how the current state of unemployment is effecting couples.  For us, it’s a roller coaster at best.  There are days that I feel like we are blazing a trail for self reliance.  Then there are days of missing a regular agency paycheck.  With kids and a mortgage in the mix – the days of missing a regular paycheck can seem longer.

It’s impossible to be in a relationship and not have money on the mind lately.  People losing jobs, taking cuts and watching their portfolios dwindle.  I have friends and family who are making tough decisions about their futures as I type.  It seems the old model of work hard and save has been smashed to pieces.

So how does one keep from freaking out about money everyday and keep relationships together?

Talking to my spouse is better than brooding

I come from a long tradition of bottle-it-all-up-inside-and-release-at-the-most-inappropriate-moment.  In this current situation it’s the worst thing I can do.  Pacing and muttering tends to not go over well with Erik either.  It’s an open dialogue about fears that has kept me from freaking out completely.  Somehow just the act of talking can take the edge off.

Breathe, It will all be ok…I hope

I have been taking stock in what can’t be priced.  My family is healthy.  We have friends and family that can help. I can get movies and books from the library.  I can take the kids to the playground.  I can bake with my kids and watch them scream and jump over chocolate chip cookies.  I can arm my kids with squirt guns and let them entertain themselves.  In fact, my kids are 3 and 5, they get excited when I get out the vacuum cleaner.

Fighting about money is too easy

Somewhere I think everyone has heard that the number one thing couples fight about is money.  Yuck, who wants to be included in that statistic.  So I try to realistically and maturely relay my concerns.  I would hate to think that I was so spiritually deprived that I let the root of all evil infect my relationship.

Anyplace that has my family in it is a home

I think about what would happen if we lost our home.  I’d be lying if I said that it wouldn’t suck.  Because it would.  But, it would not be the end of the world.  It would be an evolution for survival.  Downsizing by Darwin.

We always get parking

In a previous post Erik pointed out how he always gets parking. He just says it out loud a couple of times, and I swear the cars actually part.  And every time I feel like shouting financial “UNCLE!”  – something amazing will happen.  It may not always happen as quickly as I like for my disposition.  But it does happen.

Any relationship is hard work.  One of the best thing I can give my marriage is a willingness to work at it.  Luckily, I have a partner who feels the same way.  The work may evolve over time but the effort given is always the same.  And that is crucial when the road starts to go uphill.  That’s all I can ask for and I am lucky.