Sue G in PA Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 15 passenger vans guzzle gas. 15 miles/gal on a good day = lots of money to get from here to wherever. Dc have their first swim meet tomorrow. Dh will take them in his car. I had hoped to join them w/ the rest of the kids later after the meet started. Dh informs me that I have a choice, all b/c of the skyrocketing gas prices. I can take the van to the swim meet or we can visit my folks on Sunday. We can't do both. :glare: Now, my dc LOVE going to see my folks AND they have a pool (which hopefully is fixed by Sunday). No contest. Mom misses first swim meet. :glare: I'm just sick about all this. We live a good distance from most major stores and places of interest (even free places like farms or museums). Gas prices are even prohibiting trips to free places. We have a Maryland Zoo membership but b/c of gas prices, we have to save money to even go there. Our admission is free but it would cost over $20 round trip to get there. Sorry if it sounds like I'm whining. I'm really not. I'm just frustrated. Very frustrated. And, as usual, this effects me more than dh. I'm the one cooped up in this hot, humid house all day long w/ no AC while dh goes to his air-conditioned job or worse...he'll soon be travelling again and staying in hotels w/ swimming pools, gyms, AC, etc...alone...all expenses paid. :glare: It's tough not to get jealous and bitter although I try very hard to just be content and trust God. Okay, rant over. Back to the laundry. If you read this...thanks for listening and my apologies for succombing to my frustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I know it's hard, Sue, but in similar situations I try to remember to ask myself this. Would I trade places with him for the benefit of restaurant meals, quiet hotel rooms and A/C? Would I give up these ever dwindling days at home with my children? Would I let him enjoy watching them discover and learn while I'm having lunch alone before I dash off to my next meeting? Would I rather be at home cooking and laundering or making sure our household earns enough to keep a roof over our heads? I pick my job every time. I hope you begin to find more joy in yours, (((Sue))). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdWTMer Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I'm the one cooped up in this hot, humid house all day long w/ no AC while dh goes to his air-conditioned job or worse...he'll soon be travelling again and staying in hotels w/ swimming pools, gyms, AC, etc...alone...all expenses paid. :glare: It's tough not to get jealous and bitter although I try very hard to just be content and trust God. Okay, rant over. Back to the laundry. If you read this...thanks for listening and my apologies for succombing to my frustrations. I feel your pain. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I, too, have a suburban and can't go anywhere. No since putting more than a quarter of a tank in there because someone might feel free to try stealing it. Of course, being cooped up is no fun at all. Sometimes I hate this, not that I don't mind being home; it's just that I really like my alone time. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdWTMer Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I know it's hard, Sue, but in similar situations I try to remember to ask myself this. Would I trade places with him for the benefit of restaurant meals, quiet hotel rooms and A/C? Would I give up these ever dwindling days at home with my children? Would I let him enjoy watching them discover and learn while I'm having lunch alone before I dash off to my next meeting? Would I rather be at home cooking and laundering or making sure our household earns enough to keep a roof over our heads? I pick my job every time. I hope you begin to find more joy in yours, (((Sue))). Good perspective Crissy. Thanks I really needed that! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I understand...sort of. I'm already freaking out about what we'll do this Fall. It wouldn't be so bad since all of our outings will be one day/week (co-op, OT, PE)....BUT both boys will be playing baseball which means 2 practices or games per week PER child....and if prices keep going up, not sure what we'll do. DH drives 35 miles one way to work now and his little roller skate of a car is costing a fortune to keep filled up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 I know it's hard, Sue, but in similar situations I try to remember to ask myself this. Would I trade places with him for the benefit of restaurant meals, quiet hotel rooms and A/C? Would I give up these ever dwindling days at home with my children? Would I let him enjoy watching them discover and learn while I'm having lunch alone before I dash off to my next meeting? Would I rather be at home cooking and laundering or making sure our household earns enough to keep a roof over our heads? I pick my job every time. I hope you begin to find more joy in yours, (((Sue))). Crissy, you are so right. I wouldn't trade my job for his. Even on the worst days...I'm the one w/ the better job. I know it. I'm just feeling sorry for myself and probably have a touch of post-partum blues and cabin fever. It's supposed to be 100 deg. tomorrow and Sunday and I'm already irritable. I don't do heat well. Crabby kids, crabby baby and crabby mommy. Not a good combo. I think I'll just turn the hose on us all tomorrow! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I'm just feeling sorry for myself and probably have a touch of post-partum blues and cabin fever. Oh, my friend, there's nothing wrong with that. I'd hand-deliver a load of chocolate and a bag of ice to you if I could! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom24bz1g Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 .....am where you are. We have a suburban. While I certainly "can" go wherever I want, I feel like money is flying out the window when I do. ;) I am determined (because I was saying the same things to myself that you are) to ENJOY this summer. We are going to get our art journals out and learn to sketch and ENJOY sketching. We are going to climb our mountain (we live at the base of a mountain). We are going to bike ride wtihin 5 miles of our home (there are a lot of trails). We are going to get our guitars out and learn to play them to some worship music. We are going to learn the words to some patriotic songs. We are going to cook meals that take time that we wouldn't necessarily make due to cost and or time. We are going to enjoy it as a family and I am going to stay patient with the mess it will create. :chillpill: I do have a suggestion for the air conditioning. Not that it is warm here yet, but I do not do well/like hot weather. We do not have central air, but I do have a window unit in my bedroom. When it is so very hot I collect all the kiddos who need supervision (kids are getting older now so I only have one who has to join me) and go watch a movie/read in my bedroom. I will also send kiddos in there to cool down/read for awhile if moods are deteriorating due to heat. We have done this for around 6 years now and it has been a lifesaver for my sanity. I get really cranky in hot weather. Window units are only around $150 for a good sized one. Hubby just cuts a piece of board to prop it in with (since we have a sliding window). It does cut down on my light into the bedroom, but is so very nice for those hot days. Prayers for a change of attitude for all of us who are struggling with this. Michele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 ..... We do not have central air, but I do have a window unit in my bedroom. When it is so very hot I collect all the kiddos who need supervision (kids are getting older now so I only have one who has to join me) and go watch a movie/read in my bedroom. I will also send kiddos in there to cool down/read for awhile if moods are deteriorating due to heat. That's a great idea, Michele. One might be able to achieve similar results with a block of ice in a pan in front of a box fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosaicmind Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 15 passenger vans guzzle gas. 15 miles/gal on a good day = lots of money to get from here to wherever. Dc have their first swim meet tomorrow. Dh will take them in his car. I had hoped to join them w/ the rest of the kids later after the meet started. Dh informs me that I have a choice, all b/c of the skyrocketing gas prices. I can take the van to the swim meet or we can visit my folks on Sunday. We can't do both. :glare: Now, my dc LOVE going to see my folks AND they have a pool (which hopefully is fixed by Sunday). No contest. Mom misses first swim meet. :glare: I'm just sick about all this. We live a good distance from most major stores and places of interest (even free places like farms or museums). Gas prices are even prohibiting trips to free places. We have a Maryland Zoo membership but b/c of gas prices, we have to save money to even go there. Our admission is free but it would cost over $20 round trip to get there. Sorry if it sounds like I'm whining. I'm really not. I'm just frustrated. Very frustrated. And, as usual, this effects me more than dh. I'm the one cooped up in this hot, humid house all day long w/ no AC while dh goes to his air-conditioned job or worse...he'll soon be travelling again and staying in hotels w/ swimming pools, gyms, AC, etc...alone...all expenses paid. :glare: It's tough not to get jealous and bitter although I try very hard to just be content and trust God. Okay, rant over. Back to the laundry. If you read this...thanks for listening and my apologies for succombing to my frustrations. :iagree: It now costs us over $100 to fill our 15pass van and that's if the gas price is below $3.99/gal, which right now it is. We do alot of in town driving and ours gets about 16-18 mpg. We got a Saturn to drive when we are only driving a few kids here and there. It has made it where we can fill up only twice a month versus filling up once a week, which is what we were doing before. :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I understand! Right now my van is parked until next payday which is Thursday. I simply can't afford to fill it 1-2 times a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothering5 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 My full size passenger van gets 15 miles to the gallon and gas is about $3.80. That means we pay $ .25 per mile. If we have our family of 7 passengers on board, that's $ .03 per mile, per person. A commuter in an economy car gets about 30 miles to the gallon. That's about $ .12 per mile. If there is only one passenger, it's $ .12 per mile, per passenger. That makes my van an economy vehicle! Right? :driving: Krista in Arkansas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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