A smack in the head and a pep talk
January 19, 2009
St. Charles County
by Kris Kolk
Oh, it’s happening in St. Charles County. The economy is quietly claiming victims with weapons of foreclosure and job loss.
Peruse local strip malls. You will notice many small businesses are no longer there. No farewell parties. No write-ups in the paper. Just glaringly empty storefronts polka-dotting retail areas.
How about your neighborhood? Are for-sale signs sprouting? Perhaps we shouldn’t inquire where neighbors will live when their house sells (or before it sells). It may be in bad taste to ask such personal questions, especially when many are having a difficult go of it.
It’s such a shame, isn’t it? How those people can’t afford their homes. How those people extended themselves too thinly on credit. We wonder where those people are going to live.
“They just shouldn’t have spent beyond their means.” The stereotype describing credit-card-loving mega-consumers has some truth to it, but that’s not the entire story. As usual, it is convenient to blame the victim.
We shouldn’t be so smug to think it won’t happen to us. When jobs are lost, people don’t spend as much money. More businesses close. Alas, more jobs are lost. Further into the timeline, mortgages are foreclosed.
I don’t have to explain how it works. We all know the economy is one big domino line-up. Each individual will tumble. Our time is determined depending how far down the domino line we are.
What shall we do?
First, we need to stop the charade that St. Charles County is immune from hard times. The longer we attempt to “put on a good show,” the harder our fall will be.
Resources need to be inventoried. Not just money, but clothes, tools, canned goods and veggie seeds. We need to know where we are to know how to proceed.
Food
While you can, stock up. Aldi is a great place to get canned goods and staples reasonably priced. Cooking from scratch is job one for living frugally.
Get the yard working for you. Purchase some veggie seeds. Plant a fruit tree. Depending on home owner association rules, dedicate the back yard to growing edibles—front yard, too. Remember container and indoor gardening.
Living Arrangements--“Good Night, John Boy”
Subdivision homes, which were our crowning joy in recent decades, are usually too big. A family of three in a 3,000+ square foot house has room to spare. Perhaps a guest room could welcome grandparents having difficulties on their fixed income. Or your brother and his family may need somewhere to stay.
Please don’t think of the movie Christmas Vacation when considering extended family close in proximity. That is fiction. Multi-generational families have lived together for thousands of years quite successfully. It’s just recently that we feel entitled to 1,000 square feet per person.
Consider the benefits: grandparents and grandchildren play exceptionally well together. The sandwich generation has been busy making money while relatives, older and younger, have suffered from lack of attention. Pair them up. They’ll love it.
Older folks possess knowledge of lost skills. The teaching of these skills is a hugely valuable resource. Grandparents can become on-site mentors for such things as: cooking from scratch, sewing, knitting and gardening. This generation has the ability to save us…if we ask for their help.
Energy
Don’t drive unless necessary. Carpool. Tackle errands in one afternoon instead of piecemeal throughout the week. Make lists, so shopping trips are as thorough as possible.
Use a clothesline. Or if common-nonsense home owner association rules prohibit outdoor clotheslines, hang a line in the basement—or hang wet clothes on a rod over the bathtub.
Air-dry hair instead of blowing it dry. If something plugs in, try to think of a natural alternative.
Fun
It may be time to cut back on superfluous activities. Kids can have just as much fun playing ball in the backyard as joining a league requiring fees, uniforms and driving all around the region. This is one instance where our inventoried resources come in. Is there a volleyball set in the garage? A ping-pong table in the basement? When was the last time the family stayed home long enough to enjoy these things?
Cooperation
Many of these suggestions may all seem like “Mom’s domain,” but to be successful during these trying times, families need to pitch in. And so does the community…
Community
Though the economy may feel like it is hitting your household worse than anyone else’s, it’s not. Donating used goods and volunteering somewhere make us feel connected with our neighbors.
Participation doesn’t have to cost money. Attend a jam session. Go to a nursing home and play a game of checkers with some residents. Just spread joy. This has been undervalued. Keeping a positive vibe flowing is essential.
St. Charles County residents are capable of rising to this occasion, stepping up to the plate, riding the storm out, or whatever cliché describes survival.
Above is a mere sampling, an appetizer, of how we need to start thinking as communities and families. Stay tuned to sccworlds.com for detailed helps on these topics and more.
Copyright 2009 Neighbors About Town