If you give, you get

Today, I received payment for an article I wrote for SIGNews. I showed the check to my hubby and I was tempted to rub it in his face that I am NOT wasting my time pursuing being paid to write and that I AM being paid good money for my writing.

I had plans to veg out at home today because I have caught the baby's cold and didn't feel up to driving. One thing I hate more than driving while sick is driving while sick in freezing cold weather. (It was, like, 15 degrees today.) We were also expected to get rain -- the icy variety. With my cold, I felt lousy and not up to driving. But I decided I should take care of this check today. We might need the money over the weekend (if some unforeseeable emergency came up) and, besides, I didn't want a check lying around the house all weekend. It might get lost or damaged, or something. So, despite being sick, I decided I'd take care of this check today.

I also decided to use some of the money to get us all Chinese food for lunch.

This is where hubby got upset. He thought my decision to buy Chinese food for lunch with SOME of the money from the check meant that I was going to go out and blow it all.

Uh....NO. I was JUST thinking of treating the family to something we don't normally get to enjoy. I wanted to do something nice for the family. And it's not like it would take a HUGE chunk of money from what I earned.

I also made it clear that I AM going to save the money. I'm trying to get a Web site put together and I'll need some money for that. So I definitely HAVE to save this money, anyway.

Well, I got a little steamed with him about that. He finally just said, "It's your money, do what you want."

While I was out getting the check cashed and buying Jen a pair of gloves (with my EXTRA money set aside, not from the check), I started to think, gee, maybe he's right. I shouldn't get us a nice lunch. Let's all just eat Ramen Noodles for lunch instead.

But then I decided, NO! I am NOT going to let him make me feel guilty because I wanted to do something nice for the family!

I got the lunch, anyway. I didn't care if he stewed over it.

And you know what? It turned out to be a good thing I got the lunch. Because we were offered a chance to receive a free meal on our next visit.

Now, see. That just goes to show. If you give, you get. I'm all for saving money and managing money. But I also know, and have seen firsthand, money being spent means money being earned. When you spend money, you will earn money. I don't understand how this works, exactly, but I HAVE seen it in action. And sometimes it's not money that comes back. Sometimes, it's something else: Help from a friend, a break from work, a gift, etc.

It's like a cycle of giving and getting. It was not so terrible that I bought lunch today, because we earned a free lunch in return. That's a great value, since we don't get to eat there a lot. And it makes me feel grateful that I listened to my instincts and decided to get lunch, anyway. See? Something good came out of it.