The best things in life aren't things

I saw this bumper sticker on a car on Saturday, as TMH and I headed back to his apartment after an amazing ski weekend. You can picture the car- a snow and salt-crusted green VT Subaru- with lots of "crunchy" bumper stickers. Eat Local. Arms are for Hugging. Impeach Bush.

Is it true that the best things in life aren't things? I certainly hope so, and I wish more people agreed with me. So many problems today can be blamed on consumerism, from the environment (If we keep buying stuff, we have to have places to put it, and how much of it just ends up in the trash? Wasteful. Not to mention how much energy it takes to produce it...) to the economy (Hello, credit crisis. It's simple- too many people are buying things they can't afford). It is easy to get caught up in our material world. We are judged by what we have and what we wear and what we look like, but we have to realize that none of those things really matter (though they certainly can be fun, and we have to decide how to deal with them. How many of us haven't had the idea that if only we had that new pair of jeans, or shoes-fill in your favorite material weakness here- life would be better? ) And we still need money. That's the part that's hard to reconcile. We need money to fly home to see our moms. We need money to go skiing and relax with our BFs. We need money to fix our cars so we can drive to our loved ones' homes. We need money to buy dresses to wear to weddings. We need money to take care of ourselves (like at the dentist and the grocery store). We need money to take our cats to the vet, and to the kennel when we go out of town. We need money for rent, or for those of you who are further along, a mortgage. And, let's face it, we need money to purchase Easter candy and other little treats that brighten the day, like new hair barrettes or a fun shirt. I know a lot of people are suffering right now because they don't have enough money (and it's not because they can't buy those jeans, or go skiing, or even buy Easter candy). We need money to live our lives- NOT to show how much money we have, or how successful we are, or to measure our "worth." We do not need money to show other people how much we care, either. Our worth should be judged by much more than what's in our bank accounts, don't you think?

Vacations definitely rank high on the scale of best things in life. I had an excellent break. I did so much that it felt longer than it was, but now that I am back it seems to have gone by too fast. I knew that was going to happen. I am so pleased I got to spend a few days with my mom. I saw an old friend who is planning her wedding, which may have prompted my consideration of the importance of money a bit, but you know we all make our own choices and decide on our own priorities. Otherwise, it was nice to be home and sleep and not worry about anything (except finding a dress for a wedding. I did finally find one!) for a few days. I actually got some work done while I was there- and some good thinking time about my project. It is so much easier to think about things when you are not in the middle of a hectic schedule. It was tough leaving my mom- I wish we could see each other more often. I know I'll be back in May, though, so that makes it easier.

I also got to spend two whole weekends with TMH. The first weekend he took me to see Avenue Q. That was my big surprise. I absolutely loved it! Very funny, and appropriate to the issues I often ponder. I particularly appreciated the song about how everyone's a little bit racist. "Everyone makes judgments based on race. Now not big judgments, like who to hire or who to buy a newspaper from. No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!" If I figure out a way to work that into my dissertation, I surely will. The Bad Idea Bears were also a favorite. "Why don't you get some beeeer?" Always a good idea, right?

Our ski adventure was a true break from reality. Going up into New England feels like stepping into a page from a children's story. We stayed in an old farm house, reminiscent of Tasha Tudor's illustrations of The Night Before Christmas, and watched the birds and the squirrels play in the drifts of snow in the morning. I love skiing, even though I am not very good at it, nor do I desire to be. It's just a great feeling, being outside all day in the sun and the snow. TMH and I really had a wonderful time.

So, now it's now and I'm back on my own, trying to hold on to some of the good feelings from my week. I hope I can keep my head on straight and not freak out about all of the things I have to do in the coming weeks. April is a big month, and then I am almost done. Yikes! Oh, wait, I mean, exciting!