There is always a sacrifice, isn't there?

My Goddess, is it Saturday already? Wow, that week seemed to go wooshing by. I've been busy painting my craft cabinet and working and doing some homeschooling projects with the kids; the weather is getting warmer so we're going out less already and thus begins hibernation season soon here on the lower Gulf Coast.

Can you believe it? Ben is snoring (the dog, not the founding father). He's laying on the sofa, snoring. That dog usually has two speeds: zero and sixty.

Ah, here are some pics of him in case anyone is actually bothering to ever read this thing here:

So anyway, my dearest darling husband, whose intentions I so bitterly questioned, has been doing wonderfully for the first few days on his new road to better health. He has more resolve and determination for this than I have ever seen him have in regards to food. I don't know why everyone makes fun of 40; seems to me it's a prime time for a rebirth.

We did have a talk, and I had a bit of an ephiphany (or maybe, just a long-brewing revelation).

Everything requires a sacrifice. You eat right, sacrificing the bad habits and much of the food you loved, or you eat the way you like, sacrificing your health, quality of life, and possibly years of your life. You low-carb and sacrifice your potatoes and white bread, or you do the balanced diet thing and get your bread, but sacrifice in portion size. You exercise and sacrifice some time for more quality of life and health; or you don't exercise and you sacrifice your body, making it harder to do many things and feeling lousey in general.

There is no easy answer, there is no perfect solution; you just can't have your cake and cookies, too. There is always something that is like the payment, and it always comes due. No matter what, there is no getting around it, in the vast majority of cases you are going to pay for those choices.

Of course I knew that, I'm Wiccan; this is a core tenet of my faith-- consequences and rewards based on all your actions and inactions. I apply it to so many areas of my life, but tonight for some reason I feel as though it is a new lesson.

We have also discussed him going back to school for a while to learn a more marketable trade for a career change. He usually works at crappy cubicle jobs and doesn't like it much; he's gotten into doing some commercial cleaning on the side and he likes working with his hands better. There is a tech school here and in like 9 months he can get a certification to be a plumber (not sure exactly what kind of certification one would need).

It would be a rough year-- I would have to work more, and with his little side jobs, if we were careful and cut out any luxuries like Disney (sigh!) I think we can pull through. I say if it'll make him happy, that's the most important thing.

We have realized a long time ago that we are never likely to be high income-- me with my main talents being all artsy and craftsy, ever the starving artist, and wanting me to only work part time so I can focus on the youngin's. Him with his problems, from self esteem to self confidence, from no formal education or marketable skills, going from one crap job to another and having to work hard at them to put bread on the table and the roof over the head to really have time to do anything else. Low income kind of seemed inevitable, you know? But steady-- honest, work-- definitely doable. I mean, we could have done it differently-- school & daycare for the kids, 9-to-5 for me-- but it just wasn't what we wanted. But as long as we are careful and budget minded, buckle down when necessary, we always find we manage, and have a few little extras. Who knows-- maybe some day I will actually sell a novel or a painting for a significant amount, or maybe he will become some great plumber-in-demand. But overall, money doesn't buy happiness. As long as you've got tne necessities, you then have to choose your priorities, and we have decided how we want to live.

No matter what you do, you're sacrificing something, right? The trick is to make sure what you are gaining is worth it. Sometimes going for the instant gratification seems like a good deal; however you really have to think about how you'll have to pay later.