"Because of their size, parents may be difficult to discipline properly." - P.J. O'Rourke

Commas save lives

I said in my last post that I'm terrible at recalling what people look like visually. My mental picture of them is their personality, the who inside the body.

Related: on the drive in this morning I was thinking about Pam. She's in AZ visiting the kids and doesn't read my blog (gets enough of me in real life) so this is not some husband suck-up.
When I started out in pastoral ministry we were dirt poor and the church did its part to keep us that way. Add in two boys and things were always tight. As I moved to other churches, to the college to teach, and from there to two more churches, I never climbed much on the financial ladder. We've never owned a new car and never taken a vacation that didn't involve either a tent or the 4'x8' teardrop I built (except for the trips with them my folks paid for). I served smaller churches and a Bible college that never had enough money.
I'm not complaining!! God always provided, we never went hungry or without any necessity, and were the recipients of some remarkable acts of generosity and love from people I had the privilege of serving. And I do mean privilege.
Aside from a modest amount I get from working half time at the church we get by on our Social Security income. In some ways it feels like we've gone back to the financial status of those first years. We have to be pretty careful about each dollar.
Dinner out is at the local dive where we order a small pizza, pay $12 including a $2 tip, and take half of it home for my lunch the next day. Pam works in a kitchen with '70s orange Formica countertops that slope enough you dare not carelessly set an egg down without something to hold it in place. She has repeatedly told me how much she likes her "new" stove and fridge, both picked up used at the Habitat for Humanity Restore shop. She drives a 22-year old vehicle without virtually any convenience features, at least none that work.
OK, I'd get in trouble for this if she knew I (over)shared, but she alerted me two weeks ago that she ordered a new bra on Amazon because one of hers broke. That's her idea of an expense bordering on "reportable." I have NO idea what a bra costs on Amazon but I'm guessing most wives wouldn't bother mentioning a clothing expense under an amount significantly greater.

All of that is set-up for what occurred to me on the drive in.

Through almost 48 years of marriage (this August) I have never once heard her complain about not having enough money. Never. Sure, we've talked about money stuff and budget issues, but she's never complained we couldn't do X or Y because there wasn't the funds for it. Certainly not that I wasn't providing for the family!

That's what my wife "looks" like.