freedom

I Got You, Love: Taking Care Of Each Other’s Souls When We Get Our Freedom Feathers Ruffled

I Got You, Love: Taking Care Of Each Other’s Souls When We Get Our Freedom Feathers Ruffled

I’ve never been a huge fan of 4th of July celebrations.

They always seemed like an excuse to drink too much and play with explosives, which, as the daughter of a retired fire chief, always made me nervous and uneasy even as everyone around me was having fun.

So while I appreciate the moment we all take as a nation to stop and be grateful for the freedoms our country affords us, I’ve always had a greater appreciation for Independence Day from a more personal perspective. I’ve taken quiet moments on this day each year to commit privately to creating more of the freedom and independence in my own life that I’ve always wanted⁠ — and needed ⁠— which was always more than most people I know needed.

How to Take Care of Ourselves when our Golden Handcuffs start Pinching.

How to Take Care of Ourselves when our Golden Handcuffs start Pinching.

Golden handcuffs.

That’s what my husband and I used to call it when he worked for one of the largest software companies in the world. He had an employer who paid him a generous-enough salary that afforded us the luxury of me staying home with our babies for as long as I wanted.

They also provided amazing benefits—we never paid a single copay for 10 years. Not for doctors’ office visits, specialists, or hospital coverage for the birth of both of our babies. I don’t even think we paid copays for prescriptions. That seems completely unbelievable now, so I feel like I’m making that up. But I know it’s true because I remember the pediatrician’s office and pharmacists commenting on it every time we went.

We knew we were blessed. And we also felt trapped.