Thoughts on Entitlement
Several years ago, I was driving home from my part time tutoring job and listening to NPR. I always seemed to catch the Marketplace segment and began to really enjoy it. I've never been a numbers person, but I am interested in economy and society. They had a segment inviting young adults (millennials) to share their stories of how difficult it can be to get by in middle class America. The economy was slowly recovering from the Recession, and I had the perfect anecdote.
I went home and typed up my story in the comments section of the Marketplace page. How my husband and I had graduated college with student loan debt...how expensive health insurance plans were....how every paycheck was spent with bills as soon as we had it...how getting married during a recession was basically no fun...how we had to sell our vehicle and buy a crappier one that we could afford. We did not take fancy vacations or eat out much. I stayed home with our kids but had to tutor in the evenings for extra cash.
NPR called me. This is what they were looking for.
After consideration, we declined their offer of an interview. Behn personally did not want the details of our finances out in the entire world. I agreed that we preferred privacy.
Sometimes I wonder if NPR would want to hear how our story ended. I kind of doubt it. It didn't end with an inheritance fixing things. It didn't end with government assistance sending us payments or providing healthcare (to be fair, I was on Medicaid and WIC for a short while when I was pregnant with our 2nd child. We were literally under the poverty line. I was thankful for the help, and got off of it the moment Behn received a better job). Actually our story hasn't ended...but it has changed. It changed when we sold the SUV that we couldn't afford. It changed when we found Dave Ramsey and started following a good plan, It changed when I picked up more part time work and we paid off all debts and refuse to take on new ones (other than mortgage). It changed when we stopped feeling entitled.
These days, things feel more comfortable. But I still picked up a chair at Goodwill. 3 of my kids haven't had a memory of going on an airplane. Our van is almost to the 222,222 mile mark and I'm giddy about it. We do our best to tithe and share and save and be wise. We know we are not entitled to constant comfort. We need to be adaptable and ready for change if or when it comes.
But we still have to check our entitlement. We still have to remember contentment and gratitude. It's a heart training that is on-going. I failed even as I wrote this and was interrupted 8 times by kids' needs. Aren't I entitled to even a 20 minute break from them? Blinders on, I need to choose joy in a simple dinner out with my hard-working husband to celebrate our anniversary instead of a tropical getaway (also, nursing babies and COVID prevent that sort of thing).
I'm not sure how to end this. I guess I'm just glad we didn't share our wah wah story with NPR and instead can share our story of fortitude and God's faithfulness to us as we continue to navigate this life. Blessed be His name.
Pic of the baby because he's cute.
I went home and typed up my story in the comments section of the Marketplace page. How my husband and I had graduated college with student loan debt...how expensive health insurance plans were....how every paycheck was spent with bills as soon as we had it...how getting married during a recession was basically no fun...how we had to sell our vehicle and buy a crappier one that we could afford. We did not take fancy vacations or eat out much. I stayed home with our kids but had to tutor in the evenings for extra cash.
NPR called me. This is what they were looking for.
After consideration, we declined their offer of an interview. Behn personally did not want the details of our finances out in the entire world. I agreed that we preferred privacy.
Sometimes I wonder if NPR would want to hear how our story ended. I kind of doubt it. It didn't end with an inheritance fixing things. It didn't end with government assistance sending us payments or providing healthcare (to be fair, I was on Medicaid and WIC for a short while when I was pregnant with our 2nd child. We were literally under the poverty line. I was thankful for the help, and got off of it the moment Behn received a better job). Actually our story hasn't ended...but it has changed. It changed when we sold the SUV that we couldn't afford. It changed when we found Dave Ramsey and started following a good plan, It changed when I picked up more part time work and we paid off all debts and refuse to take on new ones (other than mortgage). It changed when we stopped feeling entitled.
These days, things feel more comfortable. But I still picked up a chair at Goodwill. 3 of my kids haven't had a memory of going on an airplane. Our van is almost to the 222,222 mile mark and I'm giddy about it. We do our best to tithe and share and save and be wise. We know we are not entitled to constant comfort. We need to be adaptable and ready for change if or when it comes.
But we still have to check our entitlement. We still have to remember contentment and gratitude. It's a heart training that is on-going. I failed even as I wrote this and was interrupted 8 times by kids' needs. Aren't I entitled to even a 20 minute break from them? Blinders on, I need to choose joy in a simple dinner out with my hard-working husband to celebrate our anniversary instead of a tropical getaway (also, nursing babies and COVID prevent that sort of thing).
I'm not sure how to end this. I guess I'm just glad we didn't share our wah wah story with NPR and instead can share our story of fortitude and God's faithfulness to us as we continue to navigate this life. Blessed be His name.
Pic of the baby because he's cute.
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