Matrimony and Money

Ah, June, the traditional month for weddings.  I was a June bride myself fourteen years ago.  It was a perfect day - the only hitch being the photo session running a little longer than planned.

When I added up the receipts later, I found that the entire weekend – including my dress for $1000, the 5-day rental for a mini-van, the photographer, the flowers, the rings, and the reception buffet – cost about $4000.  Not bad, I would say.  And it was all planned and executed in four months.  Even better.  And we’re still happily married.  Best of all.

I think it’s safe to say that happy marriages aren’t founded on expensive weddings.  In fact, who would want to start a marriage deep in debt because of a lavish, one-day party?

There are lots of ways to curb wedding expenses.  I made my own veil for $16, as well as the dresses for my two flower girls.  We chose arm bouquets which were far less expensive than the dense round ones that used to be popular.  We asked our groomsmen (my husband’s three brothers) to provide their own black suits.  We had a friend do the music.  We chose free venues for the wedding and the reception.  My mom organized the buffet.

I’m glad we chose to have a simple, affordable wedding.  I won’t pretend it was the most elegant wedding ever, but it was right for us.  We wanted to focus more on the devotion than the decorations, the promises rather than the presents, the commitments instead of the cake.

Maybe in a few years, when we’ve proven that we deserve it, we’ll have a more elaborate party – one that we can invite our children and grandchildren to.  Now that sounds like fun!  Let’s see…what colours should I choose?

Tooth Fairy Economics

The Tooth Fairy is behind again.  At the rate my children are losing their teeth, one can hardly blame her.

Unlike Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny who can plan in advance for one special night, the Tooth Fairy has her schedule sprung upon her by temperamental teeth.  And unlike Santa and his magical elves, the Tooth Fairy works alone.

Every now and then, when a tooth lies unclaimed for a day or two, my children issue a not-so-gentle reminder:  “Mom, is the Tooth Fairy dead?”

I’ve heard that some children get big bucks for their teeth – like five dollar bills or more.  No wonder people complain that raising children is expensive.

One friend admitted that her son received five dollars for his tooth because that was all she had on her at the time.  Oh, the importance of a well-stocked change-jar!  Without elves creeping in to replenish it, the Tooth Fairy needs to make sure she has dimes, quarters, or loonies available at all times.  Pennies reproduce on their own.

The Tooth Fairy in our home knows that little ones who don’t yet understand the value of money would rather have ten sparkly pennies or five shiny dimes to jingle in her purse or pocket rather than a boring five-dollar bill.

Plain and simple, old teeth just aren’t worth much – except for, maybe, those teeny-tiny cute ones, poking through swollen baby gums, white and sharp, appearing amidst tears and cheers.

If lost baby teeth are worthless, why are the contents of the Ziploc bag in my jewelry box growing?  Why is it so hard to throw away those disgusting little things?

I guess no amount the Tooth Fairy settles on will be correct since no one can put an accurate price on what those baby teeth represent:  invaluable memories of precious childhoods, passing entirely too quickly.

Something Old, Something New - First Article

Hi, I’m Kathryn. I’m not the “something old” referred to in the title, but I am a new columnist with Town & Country. I’m happy to be writing again (I wrote for a paper in Fort McMurray) but I’m sad about something else: The calculator I used since Grade 9 just died.

Sharp EL-531A was a trusted friend. She added certainty to my life, subtracted doubts from my mind, and multiplied my abilities. We divided hard tasks between us. She was a stickler for accuracy and I appreciated her for it. It was balancing the family budget that killed her.

Now I have a shiny new calculator. At least I waited until EL-531A was gone before I replaced her.

My husband wants to replace the Zenith TV I bought fifteen years ago before we were married. Whatever for? He already has a nice TV. This one is for the kids’ videos and they don’t care what it looks like.

Why are we so quick to replace perfectly good old stuff? Is the new stuff really that much better? I liked VHS. When I stopped a movie, it stayed right where I left off—and I didn’t have to worry about fingerprints and scratches. I also liked cassette tapes. Walkmans are much harder to send through the laundry than tiny MP3 players.

Technology advances so quickly we could buy some fancy new gizmo every day. That’s not good news for our budgets or for the environment.

My grandma used to say, “Fix it up or wear it out; make it do, or do without.” My grandma was smart.

We’ll get a new TV some day—when Zenith goes to where EL-531A has gone.