Sigh of Relief

As my partner works in a new position he has found for the next five months I sigh with relief. A relief for the pay that will come through the door and join mine to keep paying the mortgage, the food, the bills.

We are not poor. We are not wealthy. We are alright - we have saved hard for the past six years, we have spent wisely most days, we have budgeted and not lived on credit. Except for our home... We have a mortgage. A small one. A small flat - but the city we live in is expensive. We aimed to pay it off in five years but that was not achieved. I think another year and it should be paid off. I really should sit down and crunch numbers. Another job to add to my To Do List. A list with no end in sight.

I think once the mortgage is paid off I will feel more liberated. More free to do as I wish. Not buying more, but cutting back work hours and spending more time reading, laughing, cooking, gardening, sewing, thinking, learning, creating and playing. My partners job loss was another lesson learned in our life journey. He was in a secure stable permanent position. Or so I thought. But it wasn't so. He lost it as the new political party took the reins. He became angry and he became sad. He loved his job - he had passion about it. He went to work each day with a skip. I hope that his smile and energy will return, that he will not let the system drag him down.

Sadness and anger sapped our energy. Our home became a mess. We spent too much time doing nothing. Nothing can be good, but when nothing is destructive it's a sickness that grows and becomes too hard to battle. We are fighting it. We worked on the mundane to commence. We cleaned out the fridge together, as a family, the three of us. We purged the old and unhealthy. We filled it's gleaming insides with fresh healthier food choices. We ate a meal made with thought. We tackled our laundry, the mountain was reduced to mere rubble and we have spoken with more consideration to each other and our daughter. The stresses had strained us all, until our voices could no longer speak with calm or gentleness. We are now mending, cleansing and restoring our home and ourselves after six months of disillusionment and uncertainty. I never imagined that job loss could affect my family so deeply this way. But it did and now I have new experiences and wisdom to draw on when the going gets tough.

Stephanie @ Frugal Down Under.