The Return To Innocence

I will say this for Adam's boss: The man compensates well.
A while back, I joked that with all the work Adam has to do, Larry should give us one of the flat-screen plasmas televisions he has in the shop to replace the tiny black television in the living room. Today, he did. Adam is on his way home with a 20-inch plasma. We'll actually have a big TV in the living room that's not the projector screen.
Last year, we got a 42-inch and put it in the bedroom. I've gotten a laptop, Adam has gotten a laptop, we've gotten the LCD projector and screen, and Adam has gotten extra money for all his hard work. I'd say we've been able to get thousands of dollars worth of technology either free or nearly free, in exchange for Adam working so hard. I'm incredibly grateful that Larry does this -- he knows how hard Adam works for him. Larry doesn't put his employees through anything that he has not done himself, so I trust him to take care of Adam. Yes, the constant travel and the intensity of some of the jobs can be harsh and straining, but there are some very good things about it.
A plasma television is a very good thing.

I've always grown up poor. I don't know what it's like to not have to worry about money. I don't envy those who were born into wealth or acquired wealth, because money doesn't always mean real happiness, even though it means you can pay bills on time and buy lots of stuff. But I do, of course, wish that things could be easier; and I'm always incredibly humbled and thankful when someone gives me something that would be very expensive. Like most of the furniture in our house: That came from Adam's family. Half of his parents' old house is now in our house, because obviously they couldn't take all the furniture with them to the condo in Florida. It saved us thousands of dollars, and I was extremely grateful, because I know it could have gone another way.

Usually, good things and gifts don't just drop in my lap. I have to work for them, earn them. But sometimes, great luck happens. I do get things for free or nearly free, for whatever reasons. Maybe I was in the right place at the right time, maybe I befriended the right people. It's not something I ask for. And when I can, I do my best to help other people. However, I can understand if there is resentment, because how often do these things happen?

I have a few acquaintances who were in fact born into wealth and, by their own admissions, have never needed to worry about money. And yet they complain that they don't have enough of what they want, they should be rewarded and gifted, and they often take what is not theirs because they don't think about the consequences of their actions. They've admitted that they wouldn't know what they'd do if they were poor.

I would know what I'd do if I were rich, aside from the usual investing, saving, fixing the house, new car, etc etc etc. Provide for my parents, for the dearest friends I see as family, give to charities.
However, I'm not rich. And therefore I'm extraordinarily thankful for this one thing, this simple thing as a plasma flat screen television that would normally cost eight hundred dollars. Because it didn't just fall into our laps, work was done to earn the ability to get it. And I am thankful to my husband, and I love him so much, because he does this for us, to try and give us a good life.

I will say this for Adam's boss: The man compensates well.
A while back, I joked that with all the work Adam has to do, Larry should give us one of the flat-screen plasmas televisions he has in the shop to replace the tiny black television in the living room. Today, he did. Adam is on his way home with a 20-inch plasma. We'll actually have a big TV in the living room that's not the projector screen.
Last year, we got a 42-inch and put it in the bedroom. I've gotten a laptop, Adam has gotten a laptop, we've gotten the LCD projector and screen, and Adam has gotten extra money for all his hard work. I'd say we've been able to get thousands of dollars worth of technology either free or nearly free, in exchange for Adam working so hard. I'm incredibly grateful that Larry does this -- he knows how hard Adam works for him. Larry doesn't put his employees through anything that he has not done himself, so I trust him to take care of Adam. Yes, the constant travel and the intensity of some of the jobs can be harsh and straining, but there are some very good things about it.
A plasma television is a very good thing.

I've always grown up poor. I don't know what it's like to not have to worry about money. I don't envy those who were born into wealth or acquired wealth, because money doesn't always mean real happiness, even though it means you can pay bills on time and buy lots of stuff. But I do, of course, wish that things could be easier; and I'm always incredibly humbled and thankful when someone gives me something that would be very expensive. Like most of the furniture in our house: That came from Adam's family. Half of his parents' old house is now in our house, because obviously they couldn't take all the furniture with them to the condo in Florida. It saved us thousands of dollars, and I was extremely grateful, because I know it could have gone another way.

Usually, good things and gifts don't just drop in my lap. I have to work for them, earn them. But sometimes, great luck happens. I do get things for free or nearly free, for whatever reasons. Maybe I was in the right place at the right time, maybe I befriended the right people. It's not something I ask for. And when I can, I do my best to help other people. However, I can understand if there is resentment, because how often do these things happen?

I have a few acquaintances who were in fact born into wealth and, by their own admissions, have never needed to worry about money. And yet they complain that they don't have enough of what they want, they should be rewarded and gifted, and they often take what is not theirs because they don't think about the consequences of their actions. They've admitted that they wouldn't know what they'd do if they were poor.

I would know what I'd do if I were rich, aside from the usual investing, saving, fixing the house, new car, etc etc etc. Provide for my parents, for the dearest friends I see as family, give to charities.
However, I'm not rich. And therefore I'm extraordinarily thankful for this one thing, this simple thing as a plasma flat screen television that would normally cost eight hundred dollars. Because it didn't just fall into our laps, work was done to earn the ability to get it. And I am thankful to my husband, and I love him so much, because he does this for us, to try and give us a good life.

At the office (law firm, where I am the library assistant), it is Staff Appreciation Day. On Monday the office managers passed out chocolate candies (Reeses, Snickers). Today they gave us all $25 gift certificates to be redeemed and used at specific stores. My boss gave me his. I went online and redeemed them both for Petco. They'll come in the mail soon. I'll have a cool $50 with which to buy cat litter and toys and such. We can always use litter and toys. When the certificates arrive, I'll ask Adam or Charlotte to take me to a local Petco, since either one of them can lift and carry one or two 28-pound buckets of litter and I cannot, unless it's just up a small flight of stairs.

Lunch now.