Graduation: Part 2

To read Graduation Part 1, click here

 The prospect of my husband quitting his job was terrifying.  My car had bit the dust (or is it bitten the dust? I'm unsure...) so for the first time in our marriage we had a car payment.  We had moved to a larger apartment because our 650 square feet one was suffocating us (or so we thought), so we had more rent to pay than before.  While his job didn't make a ton of money with the bank, we had come to depend on what he did make.  It was going to be an adjustment, but just about everything that had happened over the past year (and everything that would happen in the next four) had been adjustments, so we did the best we could to adjust.

I started researching ways to save money.  The most life-changing discovery during this period was garage sales.  Everything from clothes, furniture, books, games, decor, even gifts, I found for change at garage sales.  I also started grocery shopping smarter.  I quit going to SuperTarget and buying whatever I wanted whenever I wanted (a very difficult transition, mind you) and started shopping at Checkers and Walmart and trying to stick to a budget.  We also started picking up little side gigs with music.  We did music for weddings anytime we could.  We also had a friend in Lawrence who lead worship occasionally there and in Kansas City, and he would ask me to come and share his payment with me,  usually anywhere from $100-$300 per gig.  These were by no means a replacement for a part-time job, but it did help cushion the blow.

It sure was a good thing that my husband quit his job because he next several semesters of studio were a nightmare.  He was constantly at school - oftentimes overnight.  When I think back on how hard I thought this was - you know, back before we had a child - I smile to myself.  I really thought it was rough not seeing my husband every day.  The hard part was really yet to come.

To be continued...