Living By Our Own Standards

On Homeshcooling, Living Within our Means, Buying Handmade

My grandmother and I went shopping at the mall the other day. It made me remember why I stopped shopping at the mall in the first place. Aside from the fact that I am an artist, and enjoy handmade things, and aside from the fact that I believe it is extremely important to support other artists, the fact that I was so overwhelmed with stuff, and the voices in my head that immediately told me I needed that stuff, told me I had made the right decisions by leaving the mall alone.

It's truly amazing how quickly seeing something flashy, cute or convenient can cloud your judgement/ make you feel like you need it/have to have it. Before I got here, my life was fine, but somehow I feel this cute dress will make it even better.

My husband and I both gave up well-paying jobs to be at home with our children, and pursue our artist dreams. Many would put us in the category of starving artists. our needs, or what we think our needs are, differ from the average family, we are thrifters, homebodies etc. so we don't need as much "stuff," which has us living just as well as (or better, in our eyes) the family that has two working parents, buys lots of things, and still lives check to check. The benefit is we have spent so much time with our children, watching them grow, learn, develop...

So far, my kids are young, so they are not so affected by consumersim... I don't allow them to watch channels that show commercials. They don't know about the latest toys that come out, and they aren't missing a thing. They are encouraged to use their imagination and be creative, because they don't have a bunch of toys that play form them. Dress Up, puppet shows, and putting on peformances on the stage we built for them in their very own studio, are so much more stimulating. We really play up the art/beauty of making your own things (toys, clothes, art, etc.)

We have not taken vows of poverty, nor are we satisfied about our current level of income. We simply have priorities that will not be sacrificed for the purpose of making more money. We have worked for the past few years on making ourselves financially comfortable, meaning our bills are paid, and we can stay at home, fine-tune our crafts and find effective ways to generate income doing what we love. Our income and opportunities continue to grow, as we pace ourselves, learn from our mistakes and live in the moment.

Should the day come that our children want what others want because they see it, i will simply remind them not to let other people's standards influence the way we live our lives... it works so well.