Theo: Mommy, Mommy, what're you doin' with those colors? Mommy, can I color, too?
Me: No, Theo, honey, I'm not coloring. I'm working.
Theo: Noyourenot.
Me: Actually, I am working. I'm getting ready for class tomorrow.
Theo: Noyourenot.
Me: Am.
Theo: Noyourenot. Not. Not-at-all.
Me: I am. This is for my class.
Theo: Can I color?
Me: No, I'm not coloring. I'm studying the Bible.
Theo: Can I study the Bible? With those- those- those- those colors? Jus' . . . maybe with . . . that green color? To study the Bible? Mommy?  Can I, Mommy?

Finally!

I've been doing lots and lots of knitting, but I couldn't show you until the recipient received it!!



These little sweaters are for two beautiful boys and the beautiful family that is welcoming them into their home!  They were sent off with blessings and prayers.

The yarn is Knit Picks Main Line, aran weight, mostly cotton with a little wool.  It's a shame that it's discontinued--I really like knitting with it.  It does tend to age pretty quickly, but for baby clothes, that's okay.  I was planning on matching sweaters for Theo and Isaac, and I think I still have enough left for that.

And the pattern is a version of the same in-the-round raglan sweater that I did for Isaac and Theo and that I will be doing over and over and over again.  It is such an easy construction to master and to tinker with!  Yay for Elizabeth Zimmermann!

So, seeing as how I finished two projects (even if they were two new projects which I wasn't supposed to start), I went ahead and started a little sweater for myself.



I had all this Christmas yarn money that I had to spend, you know?

Sometimes, I feel like Theo and I really connect, like we're really teaching him the important things in life, and he really is getting them.

I mean, he's not getting the connection between potties and poop, or the connection between disobedience and correction, or any of those trivial things.

But the important stuff, I sometimes feel like he's getting.

And then come days like yesterday.  And I start to wonder about the differences between what we think we're teaching and what he's actually learning.

-Okay, Theo, what shall we sing tonight?

-Mommy, sing birdies song.

-Birdies?  Like, Father's World?  "The birds their carols raise?"

-Yeah.  Birdies.

-Okay.  This is my Father's --

-NO, Mommy, not Father's World, sing birdies song.

-What song is that?

-Birdies song.  It's 'bout birdies.

-I don't know what you mean.

-It's a birdies Jesus song.  'Bout birdies.  And the blood.  Jesus' blood.

-Um . . . still not . . . getting it . . .

-The, the, the birdies . . . are . . . rollin' way.  They roll 'way.

-Ohhhhh, that song!  The burdens of my heart rolled away?  Alas and did my savior bleed?

-YES, Mommy.  Yeah.  Yeah.  Yeah, that song.

-Okay, but it's not "birdies."  It's burdens.  The burdens of my heart rolled away, not birdies.  Burdens are a heavy load, like a backpack.

-Burdins.

-Yes, burdens.

-Okay, Mommy.  Sing birdies in my heart roll 'way.

:sigh:

What kind of virtue is frugality?

Is it a virtue of necessity only, to be set aside when abundance reigns?

Or is it a virtue even in the midst of abundance?

One of Dave Ramsey's favorite aphorisms goes something like: you need to live like no one else so that later, you can live like no one else. The idea is that the payoff of frugality is its own extinction.  Drive the ten-year-old car, cut the coupons, give homemade gifts for Christmas, so that someday, you can drive a Lexus, eat tenderloin, and give your kids jet skis for Christmas.

Frugality defines our life at the moment, of course.  I use the language of virtue because it is more than a simple necessity--like eating or breathing.  It is a virtue in the sense that it is directed towards our overall well-being, by forestalling both indebtedness and poverty, by allowing for the possibility of enjoyment and pleasure even in the midst of modest resources, and by providing a measure whereby we can gauge the interrelationship of our activities. 

Our enjoyment of food, for example, is assisted by the careful husbanding of our financial resources so that there are no times when we have to go into debt to buy food, or to do without food.  Frugality provides a limit in which we can explore different kinds of delicious and enjoyable foods.  And when trespass the measure of frugality in our food consumption, it becomes less enjoyable because we know something important must suffer because of our overconsumption.

But am I making a virtue of necessity?  Is frugality still a kind of excellence, a kind of guide towards the good life, when there is no financial pressure to manage one's resources with extreme caution?

I suspect it is.

I suspect that wastefulness and inattention are still vices, even when their effects are no longer obvious or urgent.

But I still wonder what frugality looks like when one is not under extreme financial pressure.  Is there a difference between frugality and cheapness?  What is it?  How does one distinguish between frugality and close-fistedness (which is a serious moral failing, according to the Torah and at least one of the gospels)?

What do you all think?

When I'm a named chair, raking in the dough from my prestigious university position, my multiple book royalties, and my very active speaking schedule, should I still cut coupons? spend modestly at Christmas? drive a ten-year-old car?

If you are moved to contribute to disaster relief efforts in Haiti, please consider donating through UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

UMCOR is a surprisingly effective and efficient disaster relief organization.  Unlike most relief agencies, all of its adminstrative and overhead costs are funded through a denomination-wide offering in March.  This means that when you make a donation to a specific area or project, 100% of your donation goes to that area or project.

If you already have a relationship with a good disaster relief agency (American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, UNICEF, World Vision), do give through them.  There are a number of excellent, well-run organizations that will deliver effective aid to the area.

But if you just feel an overwhelming burden to help, and do not know how to do it, please know that UMCOR is as reputable and effective an organization as you're going to find.