Last Day of Buy Nothing June

Well, we made it. Not sure how much of a lasting impression it will make on the daughter. She is already planning everything she wants to buy. And to be fair, I will be at Best Buy tomorrow to obtain a new I-pod and cannot wait. In many ways, Buy-Nothing-June been a nice break, and we all feel good about the donation to the World Wildlife Federation. In other ways, it hasn't been easy.

For me, in spite of a lovely break in Oklahoma with friends, June has been a really hard month. I have been surprised to realize how often after a bad day or a bad experience, that the idea of buying something to make myself feel better crops into my head. And how it just made the day worse to realize that I couldn't buy something. I don't think of myself as a "shopalholic" nor do I spend a lot of my time shopping, but apparently, I do turn to consumerist activities for comfort from time to time. It's never a major purchase--a kitchen gadget, a fun t-shirt from Target, a new pair of shoes--but I hadn't realized before June how often I "comfort shop". I actually almost caved after an incident yesterday, but realized that nothing I could buy would make my hurt feelings any better.

I haven't been able to turn to food for comfort either, as I am trying to drop some extra pounds. So without consumerism or food to turn to for comfort, I was forced to up-level my prayer life. I have to say that prayer does not give me the instant gratification of a pound bag of almond m and m's or a new pair of shoes, but its effects are much longer lasting and build over time.

Now if I can only remember this as we move in to July and beyond.