Swim Skinny in a Debt Free Pond

Nancy Adams
Aug 22, 2017 · 4 min read

Yesterday afternoon Judge and I swam lazily around the pond. Judge never is an easy swimming companion. His instincts flood him when his nearest and dearest are in the water. The inescapable drumbeat of his breed beats “Save her! Save her! Retrieve her! Pull her to shore!” Fortunately bobbing apples distracted him. The water was warm, more than that fabled 2 inches down.

We filled our suitcases and car to go home as the pond filled for the first time, no real swimming that year. And we were carrying with us a high credit card debt. The pond ended up costing 50% more than we budgeted, 50% more than we had saved up for. We were appalled. Merv’s frugal Swiss nature and my frugal Scots nature aligned perfectly for a cash accounting system. Or money in hand. If you don’t have the money for it in hand, don’t buy it. Neither of us likes to shop so this is not the struggle it might be for others. We had saved the required amount. But the pond ended bigger. It ended taking more time. It ended costing more.

The real trouble with the cost overrun is that it reflected 10% of our annual income. I was staying home with 3 kids and one on the way. Merv was the minister of a struggling small country church. Ministers are not generally highly paid executives. Churches do not throw money around. Country churches especially have members who live simple lives (think gardening, not Gucci) and assume that their ministers will lead simple lives as well. Struggling means not enough members for the Bishop, the counsel, or in our case the Presbytery to think it is a going operation. Small means that the church doors are open because a few families are digging very deep into their pockets. Merv and I were tithing. (If you don’t practice it, don’t preach it.) The house (the manse) came with the church. We bought insurance. We bought food. That took care of the money! We went out for ice cream with the kids. We went out for lunch by ourselves. The family went to the movies from time to time. Grandparents and aunts and uncles helped out with clothes.

We drove back to Southeastern Pennsylvania to our church and manse and school for the big kids scratching our heads on how we would find that other 10%, how we would pay off the credit card loan. The only place to cut was food. It was the only discretionary part of our budget. One of us said it might be time for a diet. The other responded “Ah, to be skinny again.” And then “Swim skinny in a debt free pond!” Not quite as catchy as “We’re off to see the wizard,” but easy to chant.

I was already making bread. I was already making yogurt. Recipes got plainer. Ice cream was out. Chocolate pudding from scratch was in. Cold cereal was out. Oatmeal was in. Maple syrup was out. (This pains me to tell.) Brown sugar syrup was in. Store bought candy was out. Home made “Easy no cook dandy candy” made by the kids was in. Movies out were out. Movies with homemade popcorn were in. Merv’s and my portions were small. A chicken stretched to 5 meals. Roasted — hot at the table. Cold for lunch. Ripped and shredded for chicken a la king, or chicken salad. (Homemade mayonnaise.) Carcass for 2 meals of soup. Meat loaf. Hot. Then sandwiches. Then soup. Liver. Liver went a long way as the kids simply moved it around their plates. Hot — then cold for sandwiches, then puréed for pate.

The older kids were so used to “No” that they didn’t bother to ask. They wore their hand me downs bravely. The younger one wore his proudly as he generally looked up to his big brother. Thank heavens there was a slightly bigger cousin, an only child of doting parents and grandparents and a generous nature, for our daughter.

Those great twinges of desire — ”Oh, for coffee and a sundae at Friendlies” we supplanted with the chant and the image “Swim skinny in a debt-free pond.” It worked! Of course having a baby contributed to the new silhouette as well. We paid off the credit card debt just before we got back to the cabin for our next summer’s vacation. We swam skinny. We were debt free. We were in our pond.

It was a warm night last night so I will be able to slip in the water this morning. Judge will join me I am sure. The kids are all off and independent and quite frugal themselves if you must know. Annie the cat is the spendthrift. She wants to party all night. She does not finish her plate of gourmet cat food. She does not swim, skinny or otherwise.

Merv says I should do a recipe.

Roasted Chicken: Take a 4 and 1/2 to 5 pound chicken. Clean out the insides, being sure to save the neck for broth and the liver for pate. Preheat your oven to 45o degrees. Mash some butter with oil, thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper, and rub the chicken inside and out with it. Strew carrots, onion, celery around the chicken. Roast for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then drop the temperature to 350 degrees. Check at about an hour. Is the leg freeing up? Do the juices run clear? when the answer is yes, take it out and let it rest. Add water to the pan and simmer it on the stove till the stuck pieces free up. Add them to a pot along with the neck. Begin the making of the soup.

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