The boatyard blues were playing for most of the last month weren't they? It seemed like we made progress towards 'launch and leave' but then got knocked back to 'stay and fix' status. After a while it got tiring. Some people handle this well. I used to do it every day and handle it with a smile and sarcasm. I tried that this time and for the most part it worked. Despite the yard setbacks I continued my merry ways, whistling and living in my head where life is good.
Debra on the other hand got real quiet. But how is that possible you say, because Debra is already so quiet. Well, Debra is in charge of money monitoring. When you see money flowing in one direction for a very long time you get concerned. When Debra gets concerned she gets quiet. Sometimes I have to purposefully look to see if she is still there. Yep, there she is.
When I was single and had a good paycheck I would go my merry way (today's word is merry) doing this and that until I realized I had no money until the next paycheck. Oh, damn. I guess it's spaghetti and Genesee Beer week again. Genny was the cheap local brew. Debra was not like this at all. Debra would live on beer and spaghetti on purpose to save money. She was merry when she wanted to be.
Normally I am the paranoid pessimist onboard this vessel. I will fret over stuff I can not control and talk myself into worrying about things that I have done thousands of times before with no problems. It's who I have been all my life. I like the what if's a lot. When it comes to money I act differently. For some reason I do not freak out about it like I should. It's not like I am a big spender either. When we owned a home I had tools and yard gear that was 15 yrs old and it was not premium stuff. My cars were company cast offs and when we needed a new car I took Debra's old one. We didn't have dining or living room furniture for almost ten years after we built the house. Frugal to say the least. It's how we always roll.
This could be the reason I do not freak out about it that much. We are so frugal in many ways that I know we will be all right. I do not need a spreadsheet to know this. I have a number in my head and the number is good. I have an idea how the markets are doing and they are doing OK right now. I have a few people I trust watching these things. Now, being markets they can explode at any time. This I will talk my way into worrying about. I will hypothesize about our latest invitees into the white house will start a war we can't handle and the world economy will collapse and we will starve to death in a remote anchorage or killed by mobs of people angry at Americans. Debra may think about this scenario (maybe not) but does not let it get to her. Probably because she is so focused on the money flow. Deb does not like to spend money. Never has. It physically hurts her I think. The only time Debra liked spending money is on the kids and Grandkids. Then it pours. Then I get quiet. "You know they will out grow these outfits in 2 months right?" But they're so cute!
For now, I will merrily go about this cruising life while we are here making repairs. I will chat with the mechanics and ask dumb questions. I will laugh at something funny on the internet while eating lunch. I will have a beer and talk about the neighbors. I will cook something not so delicious and then put hot sauce on it to make it better. I will whistle while I work on odd jobs around the boat. I will annoy Debra in many ways.
Deb will sit quietly and ponder the many ways I could be silenced while she keeps track of our spending. It's a depressing job but someone has to do it...I suppose.
Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die.
Cheers!
P
Debra on the other hand got real quiet. But how is that possible you say, because Debra is already so quiet. Well, Debra is in charge of money monitoring. When you see money flowing in one direction for a very long time you get concerned. When Debra gets concerned she gets quiet. Sometimes I have to purposefully look to see if she is still there. Yep, there she is.
When I was single and had a good paycheck I would go my merry way (today's word is merry) doing this and that until I realized I had no money until the next paycheck. Oh, damn. I guess it's spaghetti and Genesee Beer week again. Genny was the cheap local brew. Debra was not like this at all. Debra would live on beer and spaghetti on purpose to save money. She was merry when she wanted to be.
Normally I am the paranoid pessimist onboard this vessel. I will fret over stuff I can not control and talk myself into worrying about things that I have done thousands of times before with no problems. It's who I have been all my life. I like the what if's a lot. When it comes to money I act differently. For some reason I do not freak out about it like I should. It's not like I am a big spender either. When we owned a home I had tools and yard gear that was 15 yrs old and it was not premium stuff. My cars were company cast offs and when we needed a new car I took Debra's old one. We didn't have dining or living room furniture for almost ten years after we built the house. Frugal to say the least. It's how we always roll.
This could be the reason I do not freak out about it that much. We are so frugal in many ways that I know we will be all right. I do not need a spreadsheet to know this. I have a number in my head and the number is good. I have an idea how the markets are doing and they are doing OK right now. I have a few people I trust watching these things. Now, being markets they can explode at any time. This I will talk my way into worrying about. I will hypothesize about our latest invitees into the white house will start a war we can't handle and the world economy will collapse and we will starve to death in a remote anchorage or killed by mobs of people angry at Americans. Debra may think about this scenario (maybe not) but does not let it get to her. Probably because she is so focused on the money flow. Deb does not like to spend money. Never has. It physically hurts her I think. The only time Debra liked spending money is on the kids and Grandkids. Then it pours. Then I get quiet. "You know they will out grow these outfits in 2 months right?" But they're so cute!
For now, I will merrily go about this cruising life while we are here making repairs. I will chat with the mechanics and ask dumb questions. I will laugh at something funny on the internet while eating lunch. I will have a beer and talk about the neighbors. I will cook something not so delicious and then put hot sauce on it to make it better. I will whistle while I work on odd jobs around the boat. I will annoy Debra in many ways.
Deb will sit quietly and ponder the many ways I could be silenced while she keeps track of our spending. It's a depressing job but someone has to do it...I suppose.
Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die.
Cheers!
P
posted from Bloggeroid
Worrying about money is a constant for me. So I get it. Mike doesn't usually worry about money, but then, he has always had a regular paycheck so he knows exactly what is coming in and what is going out. Now, on the dawn of our retirement induced poverty our daughter decides to get married. In Scotland. Good bye lots of money we could sure use right now. But I'm a bit like Deb that way. When it's my kids, money is generally not much of a consideration. Guess we can live on eggs for awhile. No beer, though. Too pricey. You'll get out of there soon.
ReplyDeleteLife on land isn't much better. Those unforseen surprises do seem to stall our dreams of the 'easy life'.
ReplyDeleteBut somehow...we just manage to soldier on.
And some of us just.........................sail away :)
- Lisa