I allowed everyone (hehehe) to watch me roam around Evanon Friday night as I watered plants and such. While giving the tour of my house, Michelle (I think) asked me if I had anything I really was fond of in there. Like a favorite item. I had to say no, it's all just stuff, either arranged to improve my Feng Shui or else to increase my points via having matching items.
It got me to thinking, is there anything in my life that I love so much I would not want to do without it. After thinking for a couple of days, here is the list of what I would not want to be without:
A camera. True, I like my cameras that I have now, but they can be replaced with relatively no trouble. Not so for the photos, I don't even want to consider losing those.
A minivan. Having driven 2 sedans, a station wagon, a hatchback and a compact, I can say that I really prefer a minivan. It has loads of space, it has the hauling capacity I need, it's comfy and it's easy to drive and park and not too bad on gas consumption.
The pop-up. After tent camping for 34.5 years, the addition of the popper to the family was wonderful. I love how little it is, how easy it is to deal with, how I can manage on my own without any problems (well...other than occasional backing issues) and how much more comfy it is than tent camping, even if it is barely a notch above. And, I like having outlets and an AC when I camp.
The bed. Yes, it's 6 and a half feet wide and long, a big old square California King bed. It uses major real estate in the bedroom. It needs a new mattress soon and the size alone makes that a 4-digit proposition. But I love it. It's my island in life, when I am having a bad day or I have been away too long, I don't want anything but my own big bed, it's abundance of pillows and thick memory foam padding. Turn on the fan, lay back in the middle and nothing can reach me.
Netflix. hahaha! I LOVE movies. Netflix provides an affordable way to watch what I want, if not immediately, then within a day or so. Every time I redo the budget (every year for the upcoming 2 years and then I revisit twice a year to see what can be tweaked) I look at getting rid of it. Every time, I decide the price is right, I am getting good value and I decide it's worth keeping.
My budget notebook. I don't LIKE having a budget, but I do like knowing in advance when we will have something paid off, when something else is due, how much money we will have left over in March of 2012 for traveling or taking the dogs to the vet. Each paycheck, I consult it to see how much I had planned to pay on a debt, adjust for what the utilities actually cost that month and keep up with every dollar that comes in. I have not had a late payment or bounced check in 10 years and it helps me keep myself on track. I know I will be broke the next paycheck because I am making a bigger payment on Jake's braces or paying ahead on insurance or the water bill to free up that money on down the road for a different expense I need to take care of.
A computer and internet connection. After nearly 7 years of dial-up, moving to the recently-available high-speed in our area has been awesome! But even so, I was able to stay connected with just dial-up, it was not the end of the world. I would rather have that than nothing, though-ironically-high speed is cheaper. I like being connected, I like looking things up at the drop of a hat and being able to check in on friends during the day without having to interrupt them with a phone call.
The library. Of everything on the list, I would be worse off I think with the loss of the library system. Books, music, movies. All free, all there waiting for me to come get them. It's amazing, really. I can go in with just my card-which is super easy to get-and walk out with hundreds of dollars in stuff that I then get to use and then return. No permanent space given over to it, no buyers remorse when I realize that a certain book really sucks, no guilt when I can't finish them all, just a couple clicks or a quick phone call and they are mine for another 2 weeks! Add in all the extra stuff that comes in handy, like wi-fi access, book and movie downloads, research materials, the periodicals, the usually useful staff, equipment you can use at the library...it's a fantastic place, worthy of awe, as good an idea as indoor plumbing. Which, they also have!
My atlas...es. I love, love looking at maps, tracing routes, looking at town names. Yeah, mapquest, google earth, my Nuvi, rand mcnally online...give me an atlas any day. Paper in my hands, fading highlighter lines, dog-eared pages, smudges from past trips and feet that were once much smaller swinging and kicking it as it sits between the mommy and daddy seats up front.
There it is, my top 10. No need to point out Matt, the kids, my friends, Daddy...the PEOPLE I like to surround myself with, this was my 'things' list. What? Only 9 things?
And...I really like Animal Crossing on the Wii. I love my town, the villagers, Curt. I like messing with the flowers and fishing and picking fruit and arranging my furniture, watching fireworks and catching bugs. It's peaceful, it's friendly, there are only happy surprises and the worst thing that can happen is a bad hairstyle-which can be fixed the very next day. I could live without it, but I would be very sad to lose it.
