Cashing In

We have a joke in our house....a running line.....

Whenever J.'s parents needed money - whenever there was a big expense approaching (say, for example, our wedding and wedding rehearsal), J.'s mom would say to J.'s dad 'Honey, it's time to cash in some bonds'. It used to crack us up.

We are becoming J.'s parents. So much of what we have is not easy to 'get to'. It involves a transaction - liquidating something. Sure, we don't want to do that - savings are savings and we prefer to leave them be.

But it's Christmas - and for all we know, this will be the last Christmas both kids are home for awhile. So, I've put my austerity budget on hold and instructed J. to 'cash in some bonds'.

Don't worry. We're not dipping into anything we can't afford to dip into. It's just a way of saying that I want to make this a really great Christmas - so we need to rustle up some cash-moola to ensure success. We could have stuck to our plan - it was a fine plan. And truthfully, we're not deviating too much from that plan. Just a teeny, tiny bit. Isn't that what saving up is all about? Sometimes, I'm in that mood of 'we work hard and all we do is save, save, save....' and today was one of those days. Thankfully, I won't have to 'regret it' in the morning. We'll be fine. It's only money, right? I figure I'm working another 15-17 years or so - so darn it all to heck! I'm going to spend a bit!

Wow, we are so blessed.....I'm making year-end donations, too!

I just went to Target (two, in fact) and made some purchases that will be useful and fun. I have a lot of wrapping to do -

I saw mom's with kids and a grandparent in tow. It reminded me so much of my mom that it hurt my heart to think about it. She'd arrive on an airplane and we'd be waiting for her - with Santa hats or other holiday hats, and bells on our shoes. The kids would get so excited, they could hardly stand it - waiting for Christmas wasn't just waiting for the guy in the red suit. It was waiting for their beloved MamaG. And as she did for all her grand kids, she'd start spoiling them rotten immediately. We frequented Target when she'd visit - and she'd go crazy getting all of us stuff. Some years, she was 'flush' - other years, slightly more careful. But no matter what, she'd take us shopping. It'd get so bad that I'd just look down at the ground 'cuz if I even glanced in the direction of something I might even remotely covet, it was like magic: POOF, it was in the cart. She loved to spoil us. It was hard watching all those grandma's spoiling their kids' kids.....but it was also good memories. Christmas has always been magical in this house and this year will be no exception.

We are heading out to dinner AGAIN tonight - another sign I'm loosening up the purse strings a bit....a new restaurant opened up and we're going to give it a try. I've been craving a good burger all day! Then it'll be an evening of wrapping and preparing for the annual Christmas cash scavenger hunt. J. helped with the clues this year - and they are really good. The boys are going to have to get their thinking caps on to figure out where the hidden stashes are!