Saturday, June 28, 2008

Doing Without

Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without

Towards the end of Farmer Boy is a story about how the cobbler didn't get to the Wilders house on time. And so the three eldest children had to go to school with last year's shoes. They'd had to completely slice Royal's boots open along the sides to let out his feet, which had outgrown them. His socks stuck out and his feet were cold.

In the age of Wal-Mart, we don't often feel like we need (or should have) to go without.

There are a few times when I've gone without, though there were always extenuating circumstances.

  • There were times when I had a limited wardrobe, like at the end of a pregnancy or while traveling. Used to having lots of options, it was always uncomfortable to wear the same one or two pairs of pants for days on end.
  • There have also been times of snowstorms when we didn't have food in the house - or food we couldn't access or cook because we didn't have power. Which is really just poor planning on our part. Which continues. What do we have in the house right now that we could eat? A can of peaches. Some soup (cold, I guess, ew). The pantry is pretty bare here.
  • Anything else???
I'd love to hear about times you had to go without, for whatever reason. Comment or blog it and link back! :)

2 comments:

Stacey said...

Hello, I noticed one of your expenses for the baby was a doula. I have never had one.. What exactly do they do? I have seen them on TV but really don't know their purpose. Should I look into this? I have always been pretty private about my pregnancy, not leaving the house very often therefore I never took a lamaze class or anything like that. I am going on #6 and I am absolutely positive this will be the end. Do you recommend a doula for someone who has done this five times and never had one? Your opinion is appreciated!!!
Thanks, Stacey

RHz said...

There have been numerous times we've "done without" because we've been too poor or too cheap to get what we needed.

I remember being 18 and living in my car for several weeks because I had no where to go and hadn't saved any money to be out on my own. I did without showers, hot meals, and other things until I was able to move in with a friend. It was one of the most humbling experiences ever & I am thankful for it.

Now, along with being broke all the time, I'm also cheap. I'm currently redoing my backyard and have turned to freecycle for broken cinderblocks and brick to landscape for free.

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