I had a very grown up conversation with my kids this morning. It wasn't about sex. Not about their school work. It was about money. We have, for the most part, protected the children from the realities of our finances. They knew that when I left ECA and went to work for myself that we would have to tighten things up a bit, but frankly, I can't think of a single time when they had to do without (I"m sure their teenage priorities would interpret things differently). When Bill lost his job, we had another "come to Jesus" meeting with them about money, but they haven't felt the impact much. Today, I had to tell them we are out of money.

Up until now, this whole simplicity, sustainability thing has been largely theoretical. We've been bopping along at a slow pace, making changes in our spending & living habits, for sure, but nothing that has really felt like sacrifice. And it's always felt like we could go back if we wanted to. This is the place where the rubber meets the road. This is the place where my commitment is tested. This is a turning point -- will I forge ahead and figure it out or will I cave and go back to "that other life" we had before?

This is going to be quite a transition for the kids, so I'm hoping that involving them in the process of working it out will help them feel more in control. I assured them that we will be neither hungry nor homeless. Everything above that isn't guaranteed. I'm thinking about kids during the depression. Parents during the depression. It's one thing if you're born in to it, but quite another thing to go from a relatively wealthy happy-go-lucky childhood to being on food stamps.