Monday, March 12, 2007

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.

3 comments:

yours truly B said...

I have said when I grow up I want to be just like....but in reality that never happenes. I am not who I thought I would be and I am not anywhere close to being where I thought I would be but, I have moved in an entirely different direction and it put me where I am today. I want to say I am grown up but a part of me still wants to be a kid because being grown up is hard work and not at all what I expected.

Toni said...

Get out! Your neighbor owns a furniture store too??? Wow! We lived in the country in OH before moving out of state. Our next door neighbor worked at his father-in-law's furniture store. We used to buy all our "stuff" there because he cut us great deals on good quality.

Good for you in growing. You'll appeciate the couch all the more because of the way you went about it.
Blessings,
~Toni~

Wil's Wheels said...

I'm a bit like Peter Pan when it comes to growing up or perhaps like Jimmy Buffett..."I'm growing older but not up".

Anyhow, way to go on waiting for the couch. You may call yourself a "big girl" now.:)