teresa

I have this idea for a book although who knows if I will ever get to it so I am going to capture the jest in a blog.  The concept is a story written as a dramatic tragedy although it turns out really to be a comedy.  The undertone which I hope will not be missed is the necessary humor and the strength behind choosing to laugh at your circumstances rather then cry.  The story is of two yuppies with dual incomes and no kids (if you are not familiar with this saying the acronym is DINK).  They have a house, maid, they enjoy a good micro brew, and they enjoy a great meal out on fairly a regular basis.   Life is good on all counts.  They make good money.  Save a good deal in 401k’s and IRAs and manage to spend the rest.  Not on anything really glamorous or outrageous.  They aren’t really into toys like jet skies, art or personal care products.  They do have their perceived necessaries, decent mountain and road bikes, camping equipment, a good computer, you get the idea.  They have a fair number of shoes and bags, mostly the hiking variety.  They live in a nice apartment, not the cheapest available although very modest as far as square footage goes.  They give to charities, are supportive alums, and would not blink at the opportunity to buy a round of drinks for friends.  They work long hours, for the most part are fulfilled at their jobs, and work to enjoy life on the weekends with road trips and outdoor activities.

Eventually, as it tends to, the economy slowed.  And at least subconsciously they realized their employment and steady incomes were perhaps not as steady as they once thought.  They slowly peeled off layers of excess in their life.  They sold one of their cars.  They cut back on the eating out.  They moved to a cheaper apartment.  They didn’t renew the maid when they moved, although they thought of that as just temporary.  Then the day after the husband’s 28th birthday they were both laid off from their jobs.  I forgot to mentioned they worked together at the same company.

This change meant a reduction to their income to about 30% of their highest.  When I say income I mean newly found unemployment income.  Unemployment was something that neither of these yuppies had yet come to understand.  Consider it snobbery although for the most part the types of people they knew that were unemployed if they had ever known any were the types of people who were freeloading off of the system.  It wasn’t until just recently that they had begun to see truly great people around them become unemployed and now they had gone from DINK to NINK, no income (basically) with fortunately still no kids.  I say fortunately as this story might have been truly sad with a child to feed, cloth and care for.

They found that the changes they had already made had helped a great deal although it wouldn’t be enough.  They realized it was funny to feel bad for two people who would have to give up their maid and micro brews, and in fact they didn’t feel bad for themselves.  They felt thankful that the things they needed to cut out weren’t what brought them joy it was only how they filled their time.  The first month they cut out even more of the luxuries of their past although at the end of the month they knew the would have to do more to have a sustainable future.  They found that while living the new changes they began to say things that would no longer sound like words from the people they used to be.  They reflected on the humor in these statements often.

A few of their favorites, which were spoken mostly by the husband were:

After dropping a piece of food in the kitchen, “darn I just mopped this floor”.  – These are two people who for better or worse hadn’t owned a mop in at least 4 years.
Or in the mid afternoon, the husband secrectly sniffed his shirt and then asked, “did I shower yesterday?” – He knew the answer to did I shower today.
And then after one afternoon, “do you want to go thrift store shopping today”, and they didn’t mean for burning man costumes.
Lastly after reviewing how much they had spent the last month on gas, they said, “lets drive no faster than 65 on the freeway to see if we use less gas” – this may or may not be a good idea with the crazy California drivers.

The most amazing thing is these efforts provide entertainment, a new challenge, and a deep feeling of reward.

I hear stories of peoples who’s grandparents save foil to reuse it, these are people who learned these necessities during the Great Depression.  I only hope Elliott and I can be that seemingly crazy couple, who use only what we need and yet revel in the abundance in our life.

I guess the story is more of a romantic comedy, and I think the ending is going to be of the feel good variety.