I try to remember to ask my girls at bedtime what their "high" moment of the day was. Last night, Eden said that she loved the new candy she received from a birthday party. "What was yours, Daddy?" she responded. Now, I had just gotten off the phone with a close buddy of mine. He and his family are in a very similar life situation as us: one teacher income and children. Our lives as D.I.N.K (Double Income No Kids) couples is over, and both my friend and I have gone through moments where we questioned the future and if we could "make it" living with the one income. Last night's conversation was one of those times.
It's easy to get discouraged when you don't have a ton of money, because in our culture we're bombarded with the message: money = security. But therein lies the problem. Salary may provide physical comforts but it really doesn't provide lasting security. Cash would buy us stuff as a family. Would my girls complain if they could see the Disney princesses every year? Would I complain if I could take the whole fam on an international trip every summer? Certainly not, and Katie could easily go back to work in a heartbeat if she wanted the bigger house more or if she needed to because I got injured and couldn't work, but in those moments when I question, "What did we get ourselves into? Are we going to make it?" I remember the treasure we get as a family by giving up a double income: time!
We've decided as a family that time on the clock of life is our most precious commodity. I wouldn't trade another income for the sound of running feet and, "Daddy, you're home!" I wouldn't trade an engorged bank account for the joy I get in knowing that my children are receiving the best care in the world because it's their mother who's giving it! Sure, I'd love a bigger house for our growing family, but not at the cost of Katie giving up her desire to be at home with her little ones.
We recognize that our goal in this season of our lives is not the same as everyone else's, and I'm not saying it's better. Just...us. We also understand that it may not always be this way. We realize that with time and experience comes opportunities to make more. In the meantime, though, my kids have taught me to take pleasure in the simple things.
My high of the day yesterday was the joy I felt after that phone conversation with my buddy, because it brought me back to the decision Katie and I made to sacrifice and invest the time in our family. Nicholas Cage sums it up best in The Family Man, "I've seen what we can be together, and I choose us."
