It's All Coming Back to Me Now...

The fact that we will soon be facing a pay cut of more than the average American earns in a year is daunting.  I will be returning to work full time next Monday the 24th.  I am trying to be strong, but it makes me so sad.  I feel terrible for my sweet husband as well, he is having such a hard time with all this.

 But mostly, I am trying hard to remember how to be poor.  I am trying to remember how to cook cheaply, how to save on household stuff, how to cut gas costs, and all the little things that add up.  I am trying to wrap my head around casseroles instead of steak, and soup instead of seafood.  I am rewiring my brain for Christmas, and my birthday, which will have to be very different this time around.  I am wondering how long to expect this all to last.  Will this be a blip on the radar, or is this a long term situation?  I am so thankful that I have the ability to make enough to survive, but sad that I never went ahead and finished my degree to the point that I could double my earnings doing the same job.  I am laying lots of plans out to weather this storm the best we can, and while I know we can survive it, I also know it's going to suck...but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right???  I sure hope so.... I am trying to hold on the knowledge that while we will be tight for a while, it will still never be as bad as it was when I was little.  My kids will never really know cold, or hunger, and will never have to wear shoes that are too small, and I won't have to skip doing the laundry because the pipes are frozen, and the electricity and phone won't be cut off.  I won't have to go out and kill a chicken or go fishing because we actually need the fish to eat.  It will be okay.  Not pleasant, but certainly nothing like what used to be....I am clinging to the fact that a greater plan must be in place for us, and that God will give us the message soon....preferably before the end of the year.