James' Guide to Simple Living: Chapter 2- Adventures in Breakfast

7:30 rolled around this morning and the Menaker Morning Machine kicked into high gear:

• Wake up the big kids because the 12 year old has camp that starts at 8:30
• Wake up the wife since she will be walking the 12 year old up to her camp.
• Get the kids breakfast...this could be interesting.
• Attempt 1- Cereal and Milk.  Nope.  Out of Milk.
• Attempt 2- Toast.  Nope.  Out of Bread.
• Attempt 3- Scrambled Eggs.  Nope.  Propane ran out last night.
• Attempt 4- Pancakes. Nope.  Did I mention that the propane ran out last night?
• Attempt 5-Waffles? Nope out of a couple of ingredients...including milk.
• Attempt 6- Stop by Sunrise Bagels on the way to camp.  Nope. We are on a strict No Eating Out budget.
• Attempt 7- Quick drive to the grocery store to get milk and bread. Nope.  The car is in the shop with "The largest Power Steering Fluid Leak the Garage has ever seen."
•  Attempt 8- Employ super Dadding skills.  Get two glass ramekins.  Coat with butter.  Stir up two eggs in each dish.  Microwave.  Serve the children "The Great Leaning Tower of Scrambled Eggs" and swagger back into the kitchen.

Simple living sometimes requires the impossible...something like early morning creativity. We got the children fed and the girl to her camp. Carina and the boy rode the bus from the university to the grocery store and then brought food back to the house.  The little girl and I walked the empty propane tank over to the chevron station where our poor car was sitting.  We filled the tank, found out the car should probably not be driven more than a few blocks at a time and came home to compare notes with Carina about how her adventures of the day have gone.

The kids are having a grand time.  They get to ride the bus, ride bikes, go for walks, do lots of home cooking, have dad home more and generally do lots of things that they don't regularly get to do.  This is why I describe our status as "Simple Living" instead of "Poverty." Our quality of life is not being adversely effected.  We are just needing to be flexible.

Personally, I hate being poor.  It is such a luxury to simply be able to throw money at something.  Out of groceries?  Just order pizza.  Car won't work?  Rent another one while you spend $2,000 fixing up this one.  Tooth aching?  Just schedule a dentist visit and pay your deductable.  It is easy to forget that this is the lifestyle of the privileged, not the status quo.  There are lots of people who have to get groceries by planning their lives around the bus schedule instead of just going on impulse.  There are lots of people who have to choose between rent and healthy teeth.  There are lots of people who's maximum travel distance is how far they can bike.  They are no less precious in God's eyes and, in fact, Scripture makes a concerted effort to point out that He holds them especially close to His heart.

I dislike watching our bank account shrink.  I dislike having to tell the kids that we can't do some things.  I dislike the uncertainty that tomorrow and next month hold.  But there are moments where I feel my compassion grow or I see the kids' characters being solidly built or our family comes together to creatively solve a problem together and I think this season of Simple Living might be an okay thing.