We Are Family

I'm reading (finally) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver right now, and I have to say that I would really enjoy being a part of Barbara's family for a little while.  Or, more specifically, I currently am in the stage where I can only admire (and covet) the greenness of the Kingsolver Clans' thumbs.  The premise of the book is that the family of four spends a year buying only local food (with one exception per person.  Barbara's husband smartly opted for coffee).  It is amazing to read their tales of growth--both literally and figuratively--and, at the same time, I feel totally overwhelmed by the conviction to participate in this revived movement to purchase locally AND to start my own garden.

In other news, my family chose to brave the mayhem that is the mall and strip mall haven about 10 minutes from our home.  It has nearly every shopping and eating venue that someone could want, and certainly more than anyone needs.  The traffic was ridiculous.  The lines were frustrating.  And, in general, I found myself feeling, most of all, sad that we are a people who thinks that we can only thrive when we live in excess.  And, I fear that today's "excess" will become tomorrow's "just enough."  Joe and I are not in any sort of financial trouble, but we are also trying to become as informed as possible about all-things-money now, while we are young, so that we don't regret making poor choices later.  So, we bought a book about saving/spending/investing/etc.  It seems like it will be a helpful aid as we think about retirement, college, and so many other things that seem to be way off in the distant future but that truly require attention today.  However, it should not take a book for anyone to realize that debt--especially debt that comes out of selfishness--does not help the economy in any way, shape, or form.  In the end, Joe, Andy and I opted to skip out on most of our errands for the evening, in favor of our comfy couch and our books.  We're much happier for it.