The culture of consumption

There's a sickness in this country. It's fueled by our whack system of corporatism. It sucks the life and soul out of people. I used to have it. I'm getting better now. I used to think that if I had nicer stuff I would be happy. That I needed a new cute outfit to go out for a special occasion so I would feel good. A new pair of shoes. A new car. A bigger house. New furniture. Going to nice restaurants, every weekend. Taking the kids to every awesome kid place without worrying how much it costs. Then we could all be happy. Oh, and a big ass tv, we need one of those too. So, for a long time I thought that as soon as my last baby went off to kindergarten, that I would go get a "good" job, and make more money, and we could finally all be happy. I also felt that there was value in what I did, staying at home with the kids when they were little, but not as much value as contributing actual cash flow. I was convinced that making money was more valueable than making a home. I was wrong. Sure, we could maybe spend more money on things, but would that really make any of us happy? What if it doesn't. It didn't for me, or for my family. We have found more joy in our home and our lives in the last year living with less. We have a renewed sense of family that is more than a vacation or two every year, and going out to eat together, or going to a movie on the weekend. We cook together, play games together, read together, learn together. We talk about our thoughts. We eat meals together. We think more. I'm happy. I'm actually proud of myself for once in my life. I wonder how many hours of my life I've wasted trying to be like "everyone else". Hoping that if I had the right clothes, or things that people would value me. I don't buy into the idea that a woman staying home to take care of her family is oppresive. I want to be here. It's my domain. I run this place, and if it weren't for me, it wouldn't run! I have true power here. I have the power to keep my family healthy. I have the power to educate my children. I have the power to build community. I have the power to work to change things that are unjust. I don't need some bullshit chart to put a monetary value on being a homemaker. That's just more bullshit. That's telling everyone else that they should respect it because of it's percieved cash value. It's greater than that, and shouldn't be defined by those terms. I'm glad we are learning to live with less. I'm glad my children will grow up understanding what is truly valuable in this world. I'm confident on this path. It's a cure.