If you aren't living in the south, you will find this little phenomenon very silly. But that's what we do best...silliness. We drink our tea iced and sweet {almost like hummingbird feeder water if you ask me how I like mine}, we plan weddings around college football schedules, we hang magnolia leaf garlands at Christmas and we ONLY eat dressing with our turkey {don't even say the word stuffing to us!}.
I couldn't help but laugh when I started to get bombarded with calls from all my remote sales reps asking what this big storm was about. Greg in Michigan said its -6degrees and he doesn't think it will ever stop snowing. They all laugh at us and think we're crazy. But I just tell myself its a jealousy they just aren't aware of at the time.
I mean, who wouldn't be jealous of beautiful homes, gorgeous coastlines, mesmerizing farms along the highway, food that will add pounds to your waistline in a matter of minutes and neighbors who would literally give you the shirt of their back?
Times are hard now as we all know it, but for some reason, I think it may be just a smidge easier down here. I can't tell you how many times I see donation boxes in our company breakroom. People willingly give away gently used coats as if its no big deal. They write checks for the twin babies whose mother abandoned them and now live in a foster home. They bring casseroles to the families who have just lost a loved one and they invite you into their homes where you find spreads of delicious food {which they usually send home a doggie bag for you to enjoy later}. You tell me where you can find all of this outside the Mason Dixon line.
I don't really know why I'm going on and on about this because I honestly sat down and just started typing. I think its really weighing heavy on my heart that I am so incredible fortunate {notice I didn't say "blessed" although I know I really am...just sick of hearing people use it too much} to live in this little bubble.
I can so easily get down on myself for not having the bank account I always thought I'ld have by this age. I start doubting myself for taking a semi-alternate route from everyone else. Because lets be honest here. Its not ideal to fork out half your salary in living expenses. But here's the catch. I'm doing it ON MY OWN and living in a fabulous place!
I don't think most of my friends really grasp this because they have a husband to share the bills with and I can almost guarantee that their mortgage is only a third of my monthly rent. So when I decline lunch dates with a "I really wish I could but I'm on a budget," the wah wah wah look I get really just tells me "I don't get it." But you know what? I'm okay with it. I truly am. Because this path is the one I'm on. And its my path. I used to be terrified of it and dreamed of a different path, but these days, I'm running and skipping along mine. Want to know why? Because I've figured out that the secret to happiness is that its a choice. Would I choose to live with a tight budget? Heck No techno! But has this tight budget shown me how to appreciate even the smallest of things like going to the grocery store? Absolutely!
You know what this is?? Character building, my friends! So in 20 years, I'll be telling my kids the SAME thing my mom and dad tell me over and over again: "when I was in my twenties I could barely afford to make it, but I did it. And it got better...bit by bit. And now I appreciate what I have so much more!" So I'm happy because I choose to be. Happy because I live where I know I have a safety net if the bottom were to fall out from underneath me. Happy because I know I'm on a different route than everyone else I know {which by the way means in NO form or fashion that I think my way is better than anyone else's, I'm just embracing what I've been given}. Happy because there IS food in my refrigerator and I'm sleeping in a huge comfy bed with the two little rascals to keep me warm {that and the pile of about 8 layers of bedding}. Happy because with the push of a button, I can hear that voice that can pull me out of the crabbiest of moods and reassure me that one day it won't be this one. That one day, I'll have that mortgage that will only be a small portion of our income and that one day, I won't have to pick up the phone to hear that voice, but he'll be sitting in the same room.
That's life yall. It doesn't work like you plan. But here's a little secret: if you go with the flow, its a TON easier! Sure, be ambitious and make things happen, but don't try to make your own path. Who are you to decide? Just keep skipping along. Because its not the destination that matters, but the journey that got you there.
WHOA.
Light post to follow ASAP!
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