being a responsible adult....

This post is going to ramble and meander around a few topics so I beg your indulgence as I clear the thoughts from my head!

The last class I had was a personal finance class. Let me just say... if this is a college level class then our nation as a whole is in deep trouble. The stuff taught in this class was stuff that I remember having in a consumer econ class in high school! We learned about buying car insurance. Yup. You heard right. Not only that but how to create a budget.... I laughed at this part. I mean seriously... if I could live on unemployment for a year and still pay my bills, I think I have a grasp on budgeting. This was the first class that after the very first week, I had started a count down to when the class would end! The one thing I did get from this class was the need to make a will.

Which brings us to the next disjointed thought in my head... We had open enrollment of benefits at work. I know.. you all wish you could have this much fun! But sadly it's reserved just for employees of the company. The one thing I did sign up for this time was legal services. Yup... I now have an attorney on retainer!! I feel so.... grown up... and responsible. The reason I did this? The service includes the creation of a will. Ever since the personal finance class, I've been thinking that I need this. If anything were to happen to me, everything I have would go to probate.... and I don't want that to happen.

Which brings me to the next thought....
I will need an executor. More on that thought later... (it involves the sister in law and will be a post by itself)

Meander now to the stuff I own....
Because of the will thing (read above), I've been thinking of who should get my stuff. My things only carry meaning to me. No one else cares where I got that little thing or the memories that seeing it evokes. But when I'm gone, I won't care what happens to the stuff. All except two things. From the time I celebrate my very first Christmas, there have been two items I've always had; the nativity creche and the angel tree topper. My mom and I have had a few arguments over the years on retiring the angel. She's seen better days... her wings might have a wrinkle or two in them and the metal might be a bit tarnished. But my argument is that when you put her on top of the tree and see her at night lit by the twinkle of tree lights, she's beautiful. I guess I won this argument because some years back, my mom gave me the angel. I think the price on the box says $2.65 ... or something.....

The other item is the Christmas creche. It's a very simple thing... Mary, Joseph, the baby and a few animals... not to mention the angel. What more do you need for a simple Christmas story? As a kid I remember laying on the ground playing with the figurines.... moving the lambs around and placing the cow so it's breath kept the baby warm. But it was my aunt's set I always wanted. It had every piece possible. The three kings were there.... camels...shepherds... lots of stuff. As a kid I always thought it put ours to shame in the opulence their set had. Then I got a little older and realized that I loved the simplicity of our set. There is also more woven into this story then just the religious symbolism of the figurines... my mom made the stable. She was about 8.5 months pregnant, standing in the cold garage nailing the wood pieces together while I was inside the house taking a nap. (hey!!! I was only about 10 months old!! naps were allowed and encouraged!) So when I look at the creche, I see my mom... I also see the angel that was my grandmothers.... and I see the pieces I've added. When I look at it, I don't just see the manger scene from the bible, I see generations of tradition. Now to decide who to entrust this to....

So as you can see, being a responsible adult takes a lot of thought...... and all of this thinking has just worn me out.