A trip to Kohl’s

Wednesday July 15, 2009 is the day that changed everything.  It began innocently with a trip to Kohl’s for my wife and a few friends.  The plan was to enjoy a little shopping and the recently opened Chick-fil-a for lunch.  She had no intentions of buying anything at Kohl’s, but as her friends proceeded to swoon over the cute outfits for their babies, she felt a surge in the pit of her stomach.  The ache one gets when the want and the should no longer align.  She wanted an adorable, probably purple, outfit for our four-month-old daughter, yet she knew she should not buy it as our budget was on hiatus.

She called me while still in the store and a tense conversation regarding the status of our budget, bank account balance and income ensued.  Devastated by our inability to freely make such a small purchase, the discussion began that forever changed our lives!  Here is her account as she wrote in a journal for our children:

I began to realize that Daddy works just to pay for our house and utilities! I work taking care of our home and spend so little “quality time” with you because of it. I am always stressed out about picking up all the toys, washing and folding numerous clothes, washing huge amounts of dishes (that we don’t really need). The grass in our front yard is dead and dirt is present in places where there is supposed to be grass. Weeds surround the backyard.

More, more, more, we wanted more.  More clothes?  No.  A better house?  No.  A bigger yard?  No.  Nicer cars?  No.  A better income?  No.  We had finally realized what we were looking for and it was priceless.  It was in front of us the whole time and we could not see it.  We wanted each other.  We wanted to have fun with each other as husband and wife.  We wanted to enjoy our children, not just raise them, but be with them as they experience life and learn from us. We wanted, needed, quality time.  It sounds cliché and rather trite, but it was very true.  The problem we now faced was, “How do we structure our life so that we live with quality?'”