Castles in the Air

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the things that my husband and I do without. (If you think this post is going to be complaining, then you should read on because it's not.) I am married to a "bowl and spoon" sort of man. By that I mean that if he were on his own he would have in his apartment: a bowl, a spoon, his crash pad, and his clothing. With these things he would be perfectly happy and content. Through the past year and a half of our marriage I have learned a whole lot about being content in this manner. He is teaching me so much just by how he naturally thinks about things! We live without some things partly becuase we don't have all that much money and partly because as we have lived without some of the things we have learned that we don't really need them. I think our little single wide is cute and funny. Granted, I don't have a dishwasher, washer and dryer, TV, the internet, or even a bathtub that I can fit into. In fact the other night I decided I'd take a bath and while bending my legs into some sort of contotortionist maneuver to try and maximize the amount of body that was actually touching water I just started to laugh at myself.

Despite, or perhaps because of, all that, I really am truly happy. I love where I am, and who I'm with and what I'm doing. I do have to exercise self control and not get everything I see and want. I bet this will probably get much harder when I see things that I want for my children to get and we wont be able to. That is to say, living without somethings doesn't really come naturally to me. I do catch myself building castles in the air. I see where my husband and I are now and where we might be in 10, 15, or 30 years. I like to think about our family growing, and the two of us growing together. I like to think of milestones and achievements. I do admit that I also like to think of how established we might be. That we might eventually own a house (perhaps it could even be the house that my husband draws plans for?). I would enjoy having a dishwasher, and a big bathtub. Today, in fact, my husband is moving in our washer and dryer! They're probably something like 30 years old and the loudest things I've ever heard, but I'm so excited for them.

I don't think there's anything wrong with building castles in the air for our future so long as I remember how happy I am with what we do have now.