The Conversation

Had "The Money Conversation" with my mother last Friday ... though I suspect it is not the only one we will have.

I wish there were some way to just step OFF the horrible rollercoaster (maybe carousel is a better metaphor?) of financial obligations to one's parents.

First of all, I feel so horribly fiscally irresponsible, until I realize we buy almost nothing and what we do buy is usually at ridiculously discounted prices. We have so few expenses, etc. There is no extravagant living going on here.

But anyway... I also feel like on the one hand I'm commiserating about my perpetually-irresponsible brother who's always tossing away his money buying gold or whatnot and running out before the end of the month and begging everyone for handouts - and on the other hand, what I'm doing seems, at times, like it's just a notch or two above that, in terms of depravity.

Maybe it's because I've been reading Barbara Ehrenreich, but now I feel like maybe there is no way out of this horrible cycle (carousel?) except down, down, down.

Anyhow.

My mother wants me to whip together a budget and appeal to the schools to have the tuition reduced. And get moving on next year's schools / tuitions, etc. And I need to get moving on the tax returns so we can file them ASAP - those really are pretty simple due to the fact that we only have one actual job and one pretty low income to go with it.

So... the gist of the conversation wasn't, "get out of the house," or even "pay for the house." Just "get moving."

Too bad the one thing I don't feel like doing at the moment is moving. I feel like sitting still. A lot.
Winter.
Sad.
Tired.
Teeth aching.

Sigh.