Come...And Rest
• Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - Why I Don't Work (full-time outside the home)
First off, to clarify some things because I know this could easily come back to bite me if I'm not careful.
I just want to give an explanation to those who may be wondering why in the world I don't get off my duff and help with more of the income in my household. It is a well-known fact that we are struggling financially. I know it is not necessary to tell and, truthfully, no one else's business, but I want to tell it anyway. It will make me feel better. I think. :o)
Also, I don't want to give the impression that I think everyone should follow my lead. Your home is your business just like our home is our business. You do what you truly feel is right for your family and don't let anyone make you feel badly for it.
With the disclaimers out of the way, here is my story.
I've done the math. In the area where we live, and my work experience (as a secretary), I would not probably bring in more than $8-9 per hour. On first glance, that would definitely give us some breathing room. But there are other financial variables, important ones, that must be considered before making such a big jump. The biggest one is the food budget. I presently cook as much from scratch as possible. By this, I mean I buy dry beans (cheaper than cans) and cook them for a couple of hours before adding them to my recipes. I buy whole chickens (cheaper than parts) and spend hours making bone broth to freeze and picking meat off bones. I grate cheese. I make my own salad dressings. I cook meals in bulk and freeze the extra. I buy very little expensive pre-packaged or boxed foods. When I say I cook from scratch, I mean I cook FROM SCRATCH. We don't eat out or hit the drive-thru very often. I have a little vegetable garden (at the farm) and freeze or can the excess produce. We found a blackberry patch out there and I pick and freeze blackberries. I also can the neighbor's excess pears to make pearsauce. Etc. and so on. All this to say, my whole way of feeding my family would change drastically, and I do mean drastically, if I were to go to work full-time. I have no doubts that, with far less time to spend in the kitchen or in the garden, my food budget (including meals out or through the drive-thru) would easily expand by somewhere around $500 per month over what it is now. If you don't believe me, you haven't done the math. A drive-thru meal for my family, without drinks, costs easily $25-30 or more if everyone actually gets full. (My family can put away a massive amount of food.) A couple of those per week as well as quick, easy meals to cook each night would exponentially multiply my food bill. And I know myself well enough to know that if I put in full-time hours at a job every day, the last thing I would feel like doing at night would be to cook a nice meal for the family. I don't exude with Type A energy. (I will also add in here that since I have begun cooking like I do now, my headaches have all but disappeared. Just the thought of headaches returning because of steady diets of quick, processed meals is enough, of itself, to keep me home and loving my kitchen.)
Also, I do have various part-time incomes that work well around my homeschooling and cooking schedules. :o) I buy groceries, order paper supplies, do a bit of clean-up, and organize our local soup kitchen's pantry. I clean a house once a month. I do childcare for church Bible studies and fill in when needed on Sunday mornings. (This pays surprisingly well.) I gather pecans in the Fall. (Don't laugh. In a good crop year, this yields a very nice profit.)
So I figure with the money I'm making by SAVING on food, and my part-time flexible jobs, my net profit from a full-time job that paid $8 per hour would only yield around $250 more per month than I'm presently saving/earning. And I have little doubt that the extra $250 would probably be absorbed by all the various extra expenses that come with working a full-time job - a nicer wardrobe for me and Rachel (who would be attending the local school and needing/wanting nicer duds than she has now). More "things" that seem to be necessary when around others on a regular basis who have more "things" than we do. And on and on. I really don't believe I'd ever see that $250 simply as a help for the regular living expenses that we have now. It would go for the extras that come with the desire to "keep up". (I can guarantee that if my fellow work buddies were buying Starbucks every morning before coming to work, I would NOT be getting my coffee from the pot down the hall. Same with everyday brown bag lunches.)
Regarding homeschooling, we would be devastated to give it up and put Rachel in school. (Colin could easily finish up high school at home at this point and Ryan is already done.) Over the years, it has become much more that simply school-at-home. It has become our lifestyle. It is the way we live our lives. Getting up in the mornings with everyone in the house going their separate ways until late afternoon would be a culture shock for our family. And I will continue to strive (fight!) for that not to happen. It is too important to all of us and well worth the sacrifice.
Regarding Doug, he has never even suggested that I "go out and get a real job". He likes me home with the family and cooking good meals. :o) Since I also enjoy all that, it's win-win.
Regarding my emotional health, I would have serious basket-case issues if I had a full-time job outside the home as well as a family to provide for at home. As I said earlier, I am not a Type A by nature. To function well, I need time to chill and reflect. If you call that lazy, then you are a Type A. :o) I didn't say I don't like to get my jobs done. I just don't do them WELL when I have too many plates to spin. And I like my jobs done WELL, not just simply done. My family and I would be going through the motions of day-to-day life without time for other things that are good and right for a family made up of people who enjoy time to think as well as work.
Please understand, I know there are extenuating circumstances for many people. That is why I put the disclaimer at the top of this entry. If your circumstances are different than mine and you have little choice, then please don't feel like you've been attacked. As I said, I am simply trying to defend our choices here in our home.
And last, but really first, I truly believe I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Max Lucado says, "You do what's right and trust God to do what's best". For the Brazzell family, it is homeschooling and Mom at home.
:o)
Paula |
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This will be a place where I can comment on the day's events, hopefully give and receive a little encouragement, and rejoice in my Savior's love.
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• Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Untitled Comment
If you dh says stay home, then wa la, that is the way it is.
Have a great day!!
Laura