We can't afford to go on vacation this year. That's the honest truth.
Each year we go to Ohio for almost two weeks to spend time with family. We cram ourselves for a week into a house on Lake Erie...kids, in-laws, nieces, nephews, et al. It's cramped and the love is unconditional.
We have a family website with a counter on it that literally counts down the minutes until we all meet again. It is the highlight of our year and has been every year since Amy and I got married.
This year, it's not in our budget.
It reminds me of the story I heard once of a small impoverished farming family. Every year they struggled to survive. Every year they made sacrifices simply to have enough to eat. They had virtually nothing besides the farm, the family cow, and each other.
It's not like there were a lot of things to spend money on anyway. The biggest thing that ever happened was the State Fair, and no one in the family had never been...they couldn't afford it...it wouldn't be sensible.
Today, Amy booked our flights and we will fly to Ohio in July for nearly 2 weeks. We have plenty excuses not to, but none are good enough.
We have airline vouchers that are going to cover most of our costs to actually get there and back. We have our tax refund and still have hopes of selling Amy's van. Most of all we have faith that the rest will work itself out.
Admittedly, some creditors are going to have to be put on hold a little longer. It won't kill them to learn a little patience. God constantly drives home that lesson for me, I think I have almost a biblical obligation to share it.
Certainly the sensible and frugal thing to do would be for us to use the small stash of money we have tucked away to prepare for more rainy days which are inevitably ahead, but sensible and frugal only go so far.
Sometimes you have to sell the family cow. Sometimes you have to go to the Fair.
See you at Lakeside!
