Disclaimer: If my grammar and sentence structure are not up to par, I cannot be blamed! My blood pressure is still high and I am a new mother. So please forgive my mistakes, especially if you are particularly gifted in grammar. : )
My husband is getting a Ph.D. in Accounting. Wait, don't close the browser window! He has much more personality than you might think. The reason I bring up his field of study is to give you some background information about the way he thinks about and spends money. When we were dating some 9+ years ago, he made it a personal (albeit secret) goal to spend as little money on me as possible. His reasoning was if I could be happy with very little, he wouldn't have to spend much on me later on. He has told me point blank several times that he doesn't see himself buying me expensive jewelry or gifts. Anyway, I've noticed that despite his miserly miserness on the outside, he is really a generous person and knows when not to quibble about a buck or two. A few examples:
When we lived in Boston, Kyle rode the subway to work in Back Bay. There were a few beggars he gave money to regularly. He told me about one man in particular who was always very polite to Kyle and always thanked him. Kyle liked giving that man money.
One year I was feeling poor and neglected. For my birthday Kyle gave me our entire tax refund (about $400) to spend on whatever I wanted. I got a double jogging stroller and some new clothes. Whenever I try to buy Kyle a nice birthday or Christmas gift, it never works out. But I'm planning something good for graduation!
Just last week we were picking blueberries. The woman in front of us didn't have enough cash to pay for her berries, and she had forgotten her checkbook. Without skipping a beat Kyle pulled out the $5.00 from his wallet and paid for her berries. The woman tried to get his name, but Kyle just said "Don't worry about it."
It's times like these that I am proud to be married to such a good person. I'm sure all that good karma will come around to us if it hasn't already. I guess I'm thinking about this because we've had so many well wishers over the last few days bringing meals, gifts, and congratulations on the birth of Kara. Twice I have been surprised to hear a knock on our door and find a neighbor we don't know well (from another country) bring by a gift for Kara and be so happy to see her. Then I remember we took them cookies or bread when they moved in. It feels good to share and have your generosity and kindness reciprocated. So the life lesson I'm not-so-eloquently trying to get across is be nice. Pretty simple, really.
4 comments:
This is Amy's husband, Kyle. I need to make a three points.
1) The reasoning was not "if she could be happy with very little, I wouldn't have to spend much on her later on." It was, if this girl is willing to spend time with me without spending any money on her, she probably would be happy being married to me. I knew we were going to be poor when we got married, so I was trying to set expectations.
2) I am not a very nice driver. No birds or swear words, but I will cut you off.
3) There are some things I could mention about our first few years of marriage that would confirm to you that I am very miserly. Maybe in another entry.
Kyle
Whatever, Kyle, don't play it down! Since you can't accept a monetary gift, you'd better gracefully accept the sweet tribute your wife is making.
However, let it be known, that I AM accepting monetary gifts . . . ;)
Good post Amy, fun to learn more about Kyle. What a nice guy he is to help out the lady with blueberries.
Good to know that I now need to stay away from Kyle when he is driving, apparently he's not very nice! :)
Anna
Awww, I miss you guys. Move to Portland. We'll play Settlers until 2:00 am every weekend.
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