Pandemics. Protests. Economic instability.
These are the features of all of our lives right now. And it’s certainly not what we anticipated when we first started our Year of Plenty back in September 2019.
The question that’s been bouncing around my brain is: Can we still call this a “Year of Plenty”? What was our purpose when we initially started this, and does that purpose still apply now?
Spoiler alert: my answer to these questions is basically a big “Yes!”
Can we still call this a “Year of Plenty”?
To answer that question, I think we need to ask what our original goals were with the YOP. Those goals basically focused on four things:
- Time
- Simplicity
- Equality
- Rest
We value each of these things. When I left my shiny new Dallas job for staying at home, the goal was that Elaine’s income would cover our necessary expenses. In theory, that would give us much more time together. There is no question that this has happened. Do you know how many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners we have had together as a family? A ton. There have been days when we all get a little tired of each other (and everyone understands this in COVID-time), but overall, none of us regret the extra time together. When I started working at Life in Deep Ellum and my hours increased, my daughters’ immediate response was to be sad and worried that they were losing their time with me.
We also wanted to pursue simplicity. Have we done this? Yes. I haven’t run the numbers this month. But the reality is that we haven’t quite stuck to the $40,000/year in budgeted expenses. This is related to two things: house renovations (to make our house fully functional and enjoyable), and additional travel. However, our eating habits have continued to be drastically different than they were last summer. When we would have eaten out 1-2x per week, we are eating out 1-2x per month. Our habits have changed so much that even on nights when we didn’t plan appropriately, our first thought is to scrounge around the house, not to just grab something to-go. This is a big win for us.
Third, we value equality. We recognize that some families can’t do what we have done. But I have become significantly more involved in our daughters’ education. I knew what was going on all year long for assignments and events (not something I could have said in previous years), and Elaine didn’t have to shoulder that burden by herself. We have also “flipped the script” on whose work is more important — and we both fight to make sure the other spouse’s work is valued and take on other responsibilities when necessary. I’m also responsible for a large part of cooking and cleaning duties that she might have taken before.
Finally, we value rest. I’d wager that this is the one we still struggle with. The fact is, Elaine’s income as the primary means of making budget has come with its challenges. She is up to the task, but it often means working 50-60+ hours of work, or work in the evenings or late at night. We have to remind ourselves that taking a day off is both important and necessary. Sometimes we fail, but we each try to gently encourage one another if we notice things are slipping too far in one direction. On the other hand, we were able to take an impromptu trip to Austin a couple of weeks ago to visit my mom that could have never happened before. I worked some, but we unplugged and were able to recharge a little bit.
So the answer? Yes, it’s still a year of plenty. Are we still hitting all the benchmarks we wanted? No.
But the benchmarks were never the point. The point was uprooting unhealthy habits, and cultivating habits for thriving and flourishing that we ignored before.