Last week I sat down and balanced my checkbook. A habit taught to me by Jim, my husband who died over thirteen years ago. Every Two weeks we sat at the computer and did our financial thing.
I am thankful that Jim and I did our finances together. It started because we were buying a high priced item. I asked him if we had enough money to afford it. It was that moment that we became partners in finance. He told me that we had to do all financial things together from now on and so we did. Boy did it help after he died too young.
It is not unusual to get comments from people, including friends, that I still balance my checkbook, with a big question mark at the end of this sentence. Like it is an amazing and quaint thing to do.
So much of our lives are on-line now. Yes I do bank on-line. Yes I keep track of all things financial on-line. Yes I shop on-line. Yes, Yes, Yes. I still like to see, in front of me that my life is in order, therefore balancing my checkbook.
There is something about sitting down, in front of my computer with my checkbook in front of me and settling it up for another few weeks. It is almost a meditative event in my often too busy life. I know that for an hour or so my focus is on one thing. I am sitting still and the outcome is that I know exactly how much I have to live and work with until I sit down again in a few weeks and do it all again. I can inhale and exhale and journey on with security for another period of time.
There are other things that I still do in “an old fashion way”. I think that people in my age group still do a few things in the old fashioned way. We pay bills on time, although on line now. I do my taxes via Turbo Tax on line. We clean the house or in my case my rig. Laundry gets done. The yard and garden gets spiffed up and the lawn gets mowed. You get the idea.
As I have aged I find these activities to be more meditative and calming. For a while all the things I need to get done are put on hold and I enjoy and focus on the task at hand. When it is done I feel complete and settled and ready for the chaos that is life.
At the end of the day, I am thankful for activities that help me focus moment by moment. I am thankful for my pretty sunflower checkbook calling me to once again come and sit down. Take a deep breath and dive in.
Today I am Thankful.
