When I was a kid I always looked at growing up in terms of numbers. When I turn 16 I can drive. When I turn 18 I can move out. When I turn ?? I will finally feel like a grown up. I am now a mother of 4, married for 12 years, and I am still waiting to feel like a grown up. Although certain things show me I am growing up.

Today we purchased a new couch. It wasn't the purchase that made me feel grown up but how we went about it. We actually thought about this purchase. A lot. We shopped around. We looked at different styles. We talked about how we would use the couch. We considered how long we would like this couch to be in our house. We went through the whole covering issue (leather, microfiber, upholstery, what is washable, durable, comfortable). Do we want a sectional, hide-a-bed, recliners)? Who would we like to purchase this item from? This took weeks.

Rewind to our first year of marriage when we bought a brand new car. We went out for a gallon of milk and came home with a pretty new thing that only had 2 miles on it but a hefty price tag. We put the amount of thought into that as we would have a new pair of jeans. We were young.

Fast forward to the present: We looked again on Saturday at the store we were hoping to buy from. The owners are our next door neighbors. Great people. Love the Lord. Honest. We wanted to buy from them and they carry quality stuff that should last for years.

So we went today and actually brought the kids. We wanted them to see some of the process and thought it takes. We wanted them to see the bill. Maybe, just maybe they will appreciate the sacrifice it takes to make this kind of purchase. We spent double on this set than we did on our last vehicle purchased. (ok, so we got our van for $700) We also got a pretty decent deal on this couch because it was a cash sale.

Then comes the other lesson, the fabric Knight decided on was not in stock in the couch we decided on. So we ordered it and the couch should be here in about a month. We would have never waited a month for much of anything when we were first married but now we are willing to wait a month for a couch. I truly hope this sets an example to our children that it is good to wait for things you want, and that it IS possible to pay cash for something like this. Maybe I am turning into a grownup.