Ten Things Tuesday--Luxury verses Necessity

I had a conversation last week with an old friend about certain things being necessary for life. He doesn't understand how I can be happy and content living hand to mouth most of the year. So here are ten things we can all live without but choose not to, in my opinion anyway.

1.) The internet. My husband and I are both out of school, neither of us work a job where e-mail or internet access is utilized. My children are too small to be using the internet for school. Even if we did need it, the library provides free access. The internet is a luxury. I can absolutely live without it (although writing this blog without it would be difficult.

2.) Cars and Drivers Licenses. People in New York or other major cities might already get this. I live in small town USA though.  I have a number of friends who walk or bus everywhere they need to go. My sister-in-law didn't get her drivers license until she was nearly 30. I can get almost everywhere I want to go on foot or via the bus. The exceptions being my father-in-law's house and my sister-in-law's house.

Carry this in your purse.

3.) Cell Phones. I am old enough to remember when the only phone we had was tied to the wall of our kitchen. My very first phone was connected to the wall next to my bed. If I wasn't home, I couldn't talk. If I wasn't home and needed to make a call, I dropped 25 cents in the payphone. There was no texting. Honestly, sometimes I leave my cellphone at home on purpose to relive those days.

4.)  TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Yes, I have TV and yes I love it. However, in the summer time, the TV is lucky to get turned on for 5 hours a week. (That's an hour a day Monday thru Friday) and that's not just because there is nothing on when you don't have satellite or cable. Honestly, at least a part of the childhood obesity epidemic would be cured if kids climbed trees and played in the dirt. And reading requires more imagination.

5.) Canned Foods. Once upon a time, you made everything from scratch or you starved. Anything pre-made is purely for our convenience.

6.) Clothes Dryer. Technically you can live without the washer too, but no one really knows how to wash clothes by hand anymore. Dryers, however, are superfluous. I do have one and I do use it. In the summer, I hang my clothes on a line. My sister-in-law hangs all her clothes from her ceiling all year long.

7.)  Credit Cards. I have never had one and, unless I need to rent a car, I never will.

9.) Microwaves. This falls under the same reasoning as canned food. It's just to make things quick and easy. Leftovers can be heated up on the stove or in the oven. If you need to thaw something, take it out the day before.

10.) Dishwasher. Don't tell my husband I know this, but dishes can be done by hand. Really.

Teacher Appreciation Week

I almost couldn't come up with a post this week, then I remembered that it is teacher appreciation week. I'm not in school anymore but I've had some teachers that made a real impact on my life.

If I had to pick one, it would be my teacher in both second and third grade. When it came time to send out graduation invitations, Mrs. Hulteng was the only teacher I mailed one to. I have so many great memories of her class, I don't know where to begin.

I was not an easy student. I have ADHD and my mother and pediatrician both thought it was better for me not to medicate me into submission. I would wander around the back to the classroom, that would be able to quote back word for word the last sentence that was spoken. Mrs. Hulteng always seemed to have patience with me.

Mrs. Hulteng knew my faith was important to me, even though I was only in third grade. When we did biography reports, she suggested Mother Teresa.

I'm still young enough to remember the names of every teacher I've ever had. But Mrs. Hulteng is the teacher 8 am most likely to remember when I have Alzheimer's in my eighties. I'll probably even remember her cat, BK, which stands for Before Kids or Bad Kitty depending on the day.

I love living in North Idaho. Sometimes though, I wish I lived in the Seattle area so my kids could have the same wonderful teacher.

Derby Practice Number One.

Last night I went to my first roller derby practice. I want to say, that I came home sore and exhausted and totally beat. The truth is I got there and anxiety took over.

I knew there would be a lot of women there. I really tried to prepare myself. So when you walk into a room of 30 + people and you only know 1 thing can get ugly. The panic attack I experienced was pretty minor and pretty easy to get over but it shook me pretty good. I did manage to actually skate and work on stops for the first half hour or so. Then I had to stop and just watch because I could not catch my breath. It wasn't because I'm out of shape, although I am. I just got overwhelmed every time I paused and realized how many people were in the room. I didn't leave, I stayed in watched.

I plan to go back next Thursday. I figure maybe if I keep going, and I get to know these ladies, I will be able to function enjoy myself, lose weight, and make friends.

This is something I really want to do. But it scares me. If I look like a fool on my blog I can tell myself no one is reading (even if you are). I can sing karaoke because I know I amexcited good. I can do a number of other things that I enjoy because no one sees me fail. But when I feel like I look stupid here, I know people can see. At 27, I should be over this feeling. But BPD has a nasty grip on my self-image. Feeling as though I have embarressed myself can have disasters affect on my mental state. But I will keep trying, because I know if I can work through this I will have won another battle against my mental illness. The gals are so supportive and so understanding I can't imagine a better place to work through these issues. I mean, come on, falling on purpose is part of practice.

Next week, my goal is to make it an entire hour before my nerves force me off the floor.