How did we get here?

Perspective (Jan's View)

What started out as what most would call a 'charmed' life - nice homes, nice cars, six figure incomes, world-wide travel - turned out to be our own personal prison. One that we heartily welcomed for sixteen years. Cat Pawnderings is part of our ongoing recovery. We hope that as we write, we will find others out there who, like us, are DYING to be free.

I met Larry while working for Apple Computer. We joined in the golden years and reaped the benefit of all that young and exciting up & coming start-ups could offer back in the early 80's. We married in the early 90's and joyfully walked hand in hand into a very dark and desperate financial prison.

There were signs all around us for years warning us that if we continued down the road we were on, we would barely survive. However, we had bitten hard on the seductive fruit of all the things that money could buy - and letting go was not easy. In fact, we fought so hard to hold on that many would find it hard to stand by and watch. We moved 14 times in our 15 years of marriage (four times in one year)! We bought and sold cars and houses like they meant nothing. Sadly, we did the same thing with our friends, our pets and sometimes, our family.

So, it was no surprise that by 2008, we had lost everything. We suffered financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Thankfully, our friends and family were patiently, and without judgment, there to see us through what would become the darkest, scariest, and yet, the best year of our lives.

I'm now 48. I'm healthier than I've been in years. I've come to experience real peace, real joy and what it means 'to have it all'. I believe we've learned some amazing truths about living below our means that I truly hope will speak into the lives of those that find themselves in similar territory. I look forward to hearing from you - thank you for being part of our recovery!

P.S. Cat Pawnderings came to us through the attached picture of our cat, Kisha. We live with two cats and find that they seem so peaceful and thoughtful most of the time. It seemed appropriate to spend time pondering like our cats.