On my mind . . .

I think this is the most I've blogged in a long while. Must be that Pete's out of town again--lonely nights equal lots of writing and reading for me!

Jake and I just finished his President's project. He had to make a "President's box", write a speech, draw a sketch, and come up with a costume. There were a few other assignments, but those are the ones I helped with. I am amazed at Jake's ability to memorize. His President is Andrew Jackson, a perfect one for Jake. For his costume, he wanted me to buy a parrot to put on his shoulder, because apparently Andrew Jackson had a pet parrot that swore too much, and therefore, was not allowed into the White House. Anyhow, this type of assignment is right up my alley!

I've also had a couple of things on my mind lately. First, the state of our economy. I watched some yahoo video about how Americans are shifting from a society that spends 6% over what they earn, to a saving society. The discussion centered around what consumers will buy, such as food, since we're in survival mode, as opposed to luxury items in a mall. They also discussed the difficulty in borrowing, changing how we will live. For instance, more people may become renters or save to send kids to state colleges, rather than out of state schools. Pete is lucky to work in a field that isn't too heavily impacted by the economy. I think it trickles down to everyone eventually, but seeing what is happening around the nation has made me stop and reflect on some habits I've gotten into. We were so poor during residency (monetarily, not in blessings) that often times I'd call Pete around the 20th of the month and say, "Don't write any checks, we only have $20 left in our account." I got really creative with cooking--using what we had and improvising with different ingredients. Yet, we always had a light at the end of the tunnel. Now matter how bad it got, we knew it was only going to be until we were done with residency. I've learned since then, that you spend what you earn. With med. school debt, a larger home, newer cars, although we make more, we spend more. I've been trying to think of ways that I can take better stock of our budget. I definitely think our entire family will benefit from this, and maybe then, we'll have some savings put away for a "rainy day".

The other thing that has weighed heavily on my mind, and is a bit embarrassing to discuss, is my surgery next Wednesday. Part of me doesn't want to write about it on my blog, but then again, it's kind of a journal of sorts, so what the heck! I'm getting a hysterectomy next week. I've thought long and hard about it, and it's the best option for me and my circumstances, but it's also an emotional thing for me. It's one thing to decide not to have more children, it's another thing not to be able to any longer. I think I've worked through that enough to feel like the benefits to my lifestyle outweigh the emotional side of moving out of that stage of life. I really couldn't carry another baby--but there's something about having possibilities. I think it's funny that I even think about that considering Pete had no problem deciding to end that phase of his life. So, unless he got a reversal or I found a sperm donor, nothing was going to happen in that department anyway! Still, I do worry a little about how that might affect me after the surgery. I'm starting to feel like I'm revealing way too much personal information about myself. I might as well tell everyone what brand of deodorant I use! Anyhow, it's been interesting trying to talk around it. If I say I'm having "surgery" I get those, "hmmmm, boob job or tummy tuck" looks. So I finally decided to just throw it out there! Too much information, I know, so I'll stop. I hope you all have better things to do with your time than worry about the stuff I do!