We've probably earned that

It's a surprise to none of you, I'm sure, that we are at this point - this do-over, start-again, once-more point. We are dramatic people, people of passion, we know that and acknowledge that, and dramatic people tend to act in fits and starts. We deserve your skeptical glances, we've earned your doubtful sighs.

But, people of passion, once steered and provided the tools for the task, are also capable of crazy, passion-driven things. This year behind us has served as both rudder and depot. We find ourselves another year into our lives but still unable to live the lives we want, the lives we are called into, because of the choices we've made to jump into our holes of debt. We also, however, have a system in place that, with the addition of more than a little determination, perhaps even a lot of passion, equips us to plunge headlong into the task. We've mastered the art of cash-living in a plastic world. We've tweaked and tuned our spreadsheets and charts. Now, it's just a matter of choosing and changing; saying yes to living with less. When all is said and done - and it will be said and done because it must be said and done, we have too much living to live to let it be otherwise - our hope is to lift our heads from our work and realize that we are free, not only free of this load but really, wholly free. I don't think anyone can earn that; that is grace.

So, I come to you again, dear friends, to seek your support, your solidarity. Sigh all you'd like in the privacy of your homes, glance skeptically, just do it behind our backs. I'm not asking for financial contributions or standing dinner invitations, I'm asking for encouraging pats on the back, a shared understanding that it is difficult to change a lifestyle but that change is possible and good. We definitely have not earned that, your support, but we're hoping for a bit more grace.

Like I said, we're dramatic people. Thanks for loving us anyway.