Our Money Tree ....

Tom and I have a money tree. It was given to us by friends as a housewarming gift 3 years or so ago. It looked like a marijuanna plant!! And it was really small. We set it in a window and it grew happily (but we are still waiting for the 20's to appear on it's leaves!!)

I re-potted it last Fall and it continued to thrive, producing more and more 5-leaved stems and getting bigger and bigger. In March of 2005, Tom and I both decided to change careers and we both chose to give up a dependable monthly income for control of our own time and the chance for even larger incomes in the future. I also moved the money tree into the upstairs bathroom window where it now gets a Southern and a Western exposure. Since March, I have kind of linked the growth of the money tree to the changes in our careers and plans.

For instance .... when Tom gave his two-weeks notice at his IT job, the money tree put out a tiny 5-leaved stem .... it is now one of the largest 5-leaved stems on the plant. When I finally decided on a name for my business, the money tree put out another 5-leaved stem ... and it has grown ... happily putting out more 5-leaved stems itself. In fact, it seemed that with each phone call or email I recieved about tutoring, another 5-leaved stem appeared!

The money tree has gotten much larger since I moved it into the bathroom (and since we both changed jobs). I water it and talk to it ... and smile with each new growth.

However .... around mid-July .... the money tree started losing leaves. They turned brown and slowly fell off! I got really worried! Tom's final paycheck from his 3 months of training arrived at the end of June .... his first paycheck from writing mortgages is due in mid-August .... he has gone July and half of August with-out a paycheck. My final paycheck from school arrived on August 1st. No more monthly paychecks from LISD .... and our money tree has leaves turning brown and falling off!!! YIKES!!!

But, you know what? I realized that the money tree knows exactly what it is doing!! Off with the old, on with the new! As our old sources of income dry up and stop producing .... the old leaves of the money tree are drying up and falling off. This is leaving more nutrients and water for the new growth the tree is producing .... and Tom and I are finding new ways to bring income into our lives.

It is a scary, but very exciting, time in our lives! I feel so blessed to have such a great husband who decided to take this leap and who supported my urge to leap, too .... even though it might have been better for at least one of us to keep a steady, dependable income until the other one got established. I feel blessed that he believes in me .... and in himself!!

I realize that the money tree is just a plant .... and that our financial lives are what we make them .... but I will do my best to keep the money tree (and the lucky bamboo beside it) healthy and happy!!

I'm still hoping for $20 bills for leaves, too!!