Everything’s Breaking
It’s time to go. Everything’s breaking.
Dave pulled his foot out of his winter boot and the boot split at the heel.
The toaster was sparking and now the center coil is burned out.
Adelaide’s lunch box no longer zips.
Asa’s zipper pull sheared off his winter coat.
Jude has only two pairs of school pants left without holes in the knees.
Heels and soles have fallen off multiple pairs of shoes.
Elbows are poking through shirt sleeves.
The list is long and if we took the time to compile an exhaustive list, I am sure that you too would conclude that the only logical conclusion is, it’s time to go.
The sad demise of the boot. They were headed for storage!
This phenomenon does beg the question of why; how is it that all this breaking is converging?
Some is normal wear and tear; realistically, how long can we expect a boy’s pair of pants to remain intact in the knees?
However, some points to the philosophy that got us to this place. Three years ago, both Dave and I agreed that it was time to start moving forward on this dream. We hold deeply to our faith and independently we both sensed God giving us the go ahead. Instead of talking about someday when the kids are older, we spoke of 2019 or 2020.
The finite nature of that timeline also brought purchases into focus. Can those work khakis last another year? Probably. Do we really want to purchase a brand new top of the line mattress when we’re leaving in two years? Not really, let’s try ordering it online (win!). Drat, there goes the coffee grinder, can we nurse it along for five more months? Unfortunately, no.
One of the smoothest parts of our marriage has been finances. Dave and I have similar approaches. We live simply but buy quality products that will last. We’ve been married 13.5 years and some of those products bought at the beginning of life together are just plain wearing out. Trying to draw out the final death throes of those quality products has turned into a fun challenge (mostly) the past few months. And when something finally gives up, we look at each other and shrug.
Everything’s breaking. It’s time to go.
