Remember the American Dream of yesteryear?? The quaint little house with the picket fence, the doting husband that worked hard for his family, the wife that stayed home and took care of the kids, while keeping up with the housework (all the while saving pennies by sewing, quilting, etc for the family, the kids that were free to explore and play all day, etc. Sometimes I wish I lived in that era. The American Dream of today would probably be classified as living in the 2000+sq foot, 4 + bedroom house with 3 garages, having the 2 kids (the boy and girl) and sending them off to daycare at 4 weeks old so that mom can resume her busy work schedule (at least 40+ hours) alongside dad, so that they can afford daycare, the expensive cars, the pricey clothes for the entire family, etc. The parents get to actually raise/enjoy their kids only for the couple hours before bed and the weekends (well thats if they haven't already gotten a babysitter so that mom and dad can enjoy a lavish weekend away from the kids). Doesn't the present American Dream sound swell??
Our ideals have changed and I think God isn't all that happy about how materialistic the world has become. When I tell people that we are moving to a slightly larger 3 bedroom house, they are like "only 3 bedrooms for all those kids". I answer back that they will happily share and I get the "look". Why is that so bad?? Our ancestors all shared bedrooms before....why does each kid HAVE to have their own bedroom in this day and age?? To hold all their "stuff" I need to buy them, right? Not that the kids don't have toys, but I don't run out and buy the newest whim everytime it comes out. We don't have a tickle me elmo, we don't have all the latest and greatest video games, my kids don't even have their own tvs/dvds...the horror!!! Why would/should this make my kids unfortunate?? They have a simple, happy, joy filled life with quite enough toys, thank you very much. Just bc someone says we need this newest thing, and this other newest thing, etc doesn't mean that my children won't fully enjoy their childhood lacking it.
As for working, I know that some families need mom to pick up a few hours to make ends meet (and sometimes/many times I think/consider I should do the same) BUT there are so many families out there now that sacrifice family for their job/money. SOOOOO many families. I used to work in a couple daycares for many years and I can't even tell you the number of parents that left their 4 week old (from 7 am-5 pm), so that they could happily get back to work. We raised those kids for them, and then they would pick them up, feed them dinner and put them to bed. I was a babysitter for a lot of them on the weekends, so they could do their own (non-mom thing). At the time, I thought it was pretty normal, but now that I have my own kids, I am sad about it. Each child is such a blessing and what a joy it is to watch all those moments as they grow up, change, and learn. Many people in today's world aren't keen on giving up the bigger house, the 3 car garage and the expensive cars that reside in that garage, the yearly disneyworld trips, the pricey name brand clothing, etc so that they can enjoy the simple, mundane joys of being a parent. They may think they have it all, but in reality they are missing out on so much incredibly joy in life.
I think there will be a lot of regrets for these people later in life, when they realize most of their life focused on materialistic goals that mean absolutely NOTHING at the end of this life/enterance into eternal life. I personally believe God gave us this life on Earth to enjoy the simple joys of life itself (not to see who can make the most money in the quickest way possible). Unfortunately the majority of the people in this world have turned money hungry. We all love money no doubt, but it shouldn't be the focus of our life. Money causes evil things to happen in this world-too many things to name. And people base their lives on money. I can only have 2 kids so that I can still keeping spending the money I am accustomed to, or my life has to go A, B, and then C so that I can make they money I want to by a certain time, etc. Look at the health insurance companies in pursuit of the highest dollar, or the mortgage companies that were in pursuit of the same "goal". What good has all that done to humanity, besides brought our materialistic based world down to shambles??
I think our world needed this wakeup call in regards to the downfall of a money based world, but I don't know how many others will take heed of it. Most are still, unfortunately, waiting for the tables to turn so that they can comfortably return to their past life and forget about all this. I can only hope that others will start to look at the life more spiritually, at these times when the simple, mundane joys of life itself may be the only positive thing going for the day (with all the talks of layoffs and crashing stockmarkets, etc). Although we might be in a recession, quite possible a depression, its NOT the end of the world. There is still so much joy still left in life, if others could just look at life with a different view. Perhaps, this is how God hopes to open our eyes to the faults of being human. I know I still need to work on my desire for worldly things (like those darn hanna andersson dresses that are so $$$ but SOOOO cute). God has blessed us all so lavishly, not in wordly (money based items), but simply in the world , family and friends He has created around us. The goal of being the best husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends (TO ALL the world), etc should be the new "American dream" and hopefully others around us will heed this "wakeup call" and re-evaluate the true purpose of our lives.
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2 comments:
I have to agree... I long for the simple life where there was a trade instead of a money exchange. Today's world is all about money and I'm always thinking of the everyday chores that waiste moments in life because we need money(like going to work)...although I only work 3days a week for 5-6hrs I still hate it...or that my hubby misses out on home life..What happend to the days of farmers and blacksmith's...those were the days when the whole family was close and worked together for a common cause.
I get the same reaction when I say I want more kids and there first comment is..."You better buy a big house"... ( I hate that comment) I don't see the problem with sharing rooms... in todays world families are not close like they used to be and I don't like that. I want to be back in the little house on the prairie times...What happend to those days???
Hey Melissa! I agree wholeheartedly. When I was a single mom with the girls I had to leave them to survive, but when God brought me into His family and provided a husband, I was only too eager to do it His way and embrace my role as a mother. I have had many failures, but still striving for the goal.
I have often been asked "where would you put another one" and I say who cares. Sounds like a callous answer but that is the last thing I am worried about when thinking about God rewarding us with another child. The fruit of the womb is a reward, and if He gave it to us, He will provide! I have our children sharing rooms, 3 to a room at times and they are learning a lot of useful lessons by that experience. Sadly, we can't have any more now...
With the internet and E-commerce a lot of people are finding a way to work from home and be closer to family again.
I still watch Little House fondly, Jenn. I know it's romanticized for TV, and it was a hard life, but the family values were strong and they appreciated each other. I long for that, too.
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