Fighting the urge

Lately I've been fighting the urge to be stingy. Like, seriously stingy. Maybe even verging on just plain ridiculously cheap. There are so many expenditures that come with having a baby that sometimes get me overwhelmed. In general, I'm a worrier and money is something that I worry about a lot.

It started with the school changing the "insurance" system that they had. I put insurance in quotes because it's not really insurance; it was one person who decided what the school would reimburse and what they wouldn't. Sketchy much? Pregnancy isn't covered, which is fine. Expensive with doctor visits, ultrasounds, blood tests, vitamins, etc, but well worth every peso. Then the school decided that my hospital bills, originally covered, wouldn't be covered anymore. They would have a certain amount of money that they would reimburse and everything after that would be on me. Uhh, I'm 4 weeks from my due date. Are you serious? Enter major worry.

So, I decided last week that I've just been wasting way too much time worrying. As wrong as it may seem to me, if the school doesn't pay my hospital bills, we'll just have to take money from our savings for buying a house. Not my #1 option, but I'm not going to sacrifice my or Ana Victoria's safety and health because of money.

I also decided to fight my urge to be ridiculously cheap with generosity. I invited our good friends over to eat last week. I gave a little extra at Mass on Sunday. It isn't much, but it's actually helping me to worry less. I try to keep in context that there are so many people around me who don't have the possibility to have a private doctor, who couldn't have babies in a private hospital, who don't have a car or a roof over their heads, etc.

Originally I hadn't given up or added anything into my life for Lent. I figured not being pregnant by Easter was a good and achievable goal, but now I'm thinking that what I need to do is clear. My goal is to be generous and have a thankful heart. We'll see how I do!