11 JunOld Fashioned Family

I just read an article about a family of five having a difficulty making do on their combined $110,000 a year. They were doing fine before they had their twins, but now they are on the financial edge. This made me grin a little. I support a family of seven on a fraction of what they make. And, get this, my family is happy.

Am I proclaiming this lifestyle as a guide to the rest of the world? Certainly not. I would be very pleased to be making $110,000 a year right now. The reason I grin is because there was a time when I made a lot more money than I make now when I couldn’t imagine living on what my family currently  lives on. Presently I find myself in a situation where we are required to live on very little and we do.

I run a small computer repair shop in a small town. My wife is a homemaker. We still have five children at home. Three others are grown and on their own.  This is a very old-fashioned arrangement.  I understand that it is common for both the husband and wife to have full-time employment. When both husband and wife work they bring in an average of $80,000 a year. That does sound appealing. I mean the $80,000 a year sounds appealing, not both spouses working.

It’s not that I am against women working. My mom was a professional when I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. She made considerably more than my dad. I was never ashamed to have a working mom. She was the director of the emergency department at the hospital and I was proud of her. But to have both spouses working seems so desperate. I understand that in many cases it isn’t about desperation. At least it doesn’t start out that way. It is about about a husband and wife both pursuing what they hope to be a fulfilling career. However, in many cases it turns into desperation. When one spouse or another loses their employment a financial crisis sets in. Their lifestyle has become dependent on both incomes.

And then there is the “woman wants it all” syndrome. Women want a full time career and they want to be terrific moms and homemakers. I read statements from these women justifying their syndrome—of how it’s hard, but worth it. I’ve always understood that if you take the same amount of butter and spread it on more bread you will have to spread it more thinly. Somebody somewhere is going to have to do with less. It’s usually the children. I’m still a believer that a child who has a full-time mom (by her own choice) is better off than overall than a child whose mom is an executive at a corporation and a mom only when she has time.

I don’t have answers for all this. I just know that in my home I work and my wife takes care of my home and children. We would like more, but get by on very little. Our home is humble, but our family is happy. I understand that things change and people have to adapt. I hope our situation doesn’t change. In this fast paced world our old-fashioned way of living seems like an island out of time.