life...

Life is expensive. They say money won’t buy you happiness, which I would agree with, for sure…but I feel like it could be extremely useful when life turns its ugly side on you: namely when you get a parking ticket for $50, because of ‘street cleaning’ on a street that doesn’t look any different after the alleged ‘cleaning day’, or a renewal of registration for your car (which – by the way – you JUST registered 4 months ago when you came back into the states, and the only reason for this renewal is because it is your birthday. Some birthday gift, huh? I like Baskin Robbins’s gift a bit better…). Oh, and another soon-to-be ticket because the yellow lights here are so stinking fast that you ran a red light – completely on accident – and saw the little light flicker, and are sure your little yellow cabby car now has a terrible mug shot plastered on some greasy light-patrolling security officials screen. You would think this city has it out for our poor little yellow skittle. Parking tickets, registration, too-fast-of-yellow-lights…it’s enough to make you want to move back to Bonaire!  No lights, no parking tickets…of course I guess even there you can’t get out of registration…but regardless…it all comes down to money. And money sure does disappear fast here it seems…rent, that used to be $400, including all utilities, is now $870, excluding utilities.  Transportation which was $20-40 per month, depending on whether it was a school break time or not, has now become over $100 – regardless of using a car or the all-exalted public transit.

Food, however, is cheaper, thanks to a good friend named Aldi’s – oh Aldi’s, how I love thy 99 cent generic brand oreo’s as well as thy similarly priced pound of strawberries. You make me feel like it is somehow possible to make this budget work…

Of course, there are the free things here, which make life, in general, much happier – like the River Park swimming pool and water park across the street, with free toddler swimming right before Bronsito’s nap – the perfect way to tucker him out and ensure a full two hours of ‘me’ time, as well as the free zoo and free children’s museum (on Thursday nights!) across town. All make for a happy toddler, and thus, a happy mom (yes – you’ve heard the phrase, if mom ain’t happy ain’t no one happy – well in my house, if child ain’t happy, ain’t no mom happy). And, our apartment, though more expensive, is much bigger, allowing McDreamy to study here, rather than at the school, which also makes for a happier mom…

And at least I’m here with my husband and son, rather than working full time in Georgia, with Bronsito in Day Care, and my McDreamy here alone. That definitely makes everyone happier. Much happier!

So, I guess it’s true: money doesn’t buy happiness. We’re as poor as dirt, with a city out to get our poor little skittle car, but we’re together, and we’re happy. So, I guess I can take this blog entry as a lesson: before I start counting my challenges, I have to count my blessings: regardless of money, I have my wonderful, hard-working McDreamy, and my full-of-life, abc-singing Bronsito. What else could I want? Well, besides the mug-shot of my poor car erased….