Poverty: The state of having little or no money and few material possessions.
The thought occurs to me that if we keep the name poverty, it will remind us of what we have. You can’t appreciate the light without knowing the dark, the yin and yang of life. You can’t appreciate wealth without knowing poverty. Also, money and material possessions are not what are most important in life. Of course, they are much desired. I need to be reminded often that what I need most is not able to be bought. Life, Love, Peace, Self-Esteem. The name Poverty can keep me humble.
We did not choose the name and it seemed like we did not choose the land, either. The story of how we found the land is as follows. About 10 years ago, Linda and I ran into my old roommate’s ex girlfriend at her 50th birthday party. The ex had just bought the land and was thrilled. I was interested in hearing about buying land, as we had been thinking about doing the same thing. Since she bought a double lot, I mentioned if she ever wanted to sell part of the land to let us know. Surprisingly, about two years later, she called to say she was selling the land. They were doing it in order to finance a private school education for her son. Linda and I jumped at the chance to look at the property and loved it. We saw a few comparable pieces of land, but realized that water frontage on a pond, in conservation area was not to be passed up. We bought the 8 ½ acres with a home equity line of credit which we later transferred into a regular loan. We pay in two chunks per month and at this rate it will be paid off in less than 10 years. We’d never go on a vacation as extravagant as what we are paying for this.
The thought occurs to me that if we keep the name poverty, it will remind us of what we have. You can’t appreciate the light without knowing the dark, the yin and yang of life. You can’t appreciate wealth without knowing poverty. Also, money and material possessions are not what are most important in life. Of course, they are much desired. I need to be reminded often that what I need most is not able to be bought. Life, Love, Peace, Self-Esteem. The name Poverty can keep me humble.
We did not choose the name and it seemed like we did not choose the land, either. The story of how we found the land is as follows. About 10 years ago, Linda and I ran into my old roommate’s ex girlfriend at her 50th birthday party. The ex had just bought the land and was thrilled. I was interested in hearing about buying land, as we had been thinking about doing the same thing. Since she bought a double lot, I mentioned if she ever wanted to sell part of the land to let us know. Surprisingly, about two years later, she called to say she was selling the land. They were doing it in order to finance a private school education for her son. Linda and I jumped at the chance to look at the property and loved it. We saw a few comparable pieces of land, but realized that water frontage on a pond, in conservation area was not to be passed up. We bought the 8 ½ acres with a home equity line of credit which we later transferred into a regular loan. We pay in two chunks per month and at this rate it will be paid off in less than 10 years. We’d never go on a vacation as extravagant as what we are paying for this.
Needless to say, our children will be attending public school. I’m not upset. Rather, I’m thrilled. Their adjunct education will be in nature. The cabin and surrounding pond, woods, and trails will be their classroom. I was and often still am overwhelmed with the prospect of raising caring, smart, confident children. I am comforted by the thought of bringing my kids outside and into nature when I have no idea of what to do for them. I tell myself that when I fail to come up with the right parenting techniques, I can always go into the woods for a lesson in nature. Nature always has something to offer, whether it is a challenge, a reflection or something else. Now Maya and Clay can grow up with an outdoor classroom. I hope that they, and Linda, and myself, and whoever else visits us there (hint, hint), will grow in all things that money cannot directly buy.
No comments:
Post a Comment