"You're precious budget or plan or whatever you call it isn't worth what you flush in the morning if we don't have FOOD!"
Her voice raised as the reality of her own emotions sank in as she yelled the words at her husband. He stood, with his wife in the kitchen, with an open fridge, more bare then they are both used to. In this case, specifically, the shelves were void of milk.
"I'm not saying we shouldn't buy food! I know we need food! We also need to think of the future. How many more things will we need from the store this month? We are almost done, but we've already reached our limit!" His voice lacked the same fire of conviction of his wife. Not because of apathy, but because he was more confused on how to solve the problem in front of him.
"All you seem to care about is your precious money and whether we have enough. I don't care about some time twenty years down the line if we can't live our lives here and now!" From her perspective, the thought of going without milk was out of the question. How can he expect the kids to go without healthy food so they can grow? Deep down she knew he cared for her and the kids, but this new plan he had concocted seemed a stretch too far.
"All I'm asking is that we sit down and figure out how to solve this problem. Can't we go one week without milk? What about all the food in the pantry that we haven't used? Why are you yelling at me like I'm your enemy in this?!" That last bit escaped his lips with more venom than he first intended.
"I wouldn't think you are my enemy if you supported your family like you're supposed to! Forget what you think and forget your little plan for us that you 'figured' out without any of my input! I'm going to the store, we need milk, and if getting milk is going to overdraft our account, AGAIN, I suggest you do something about it!"
Her purse was already over her shoulder and the front door half closed by the time her suggestion came out.
He stood in the kitchen, dumbfounded and angry. He was trying to look past the here and now so his family had a less stressful future! Self-righteous thoughts about how he supports the family and is looking out for the future streamed through his brain. Recognizing the futility of entertaining those thoughts, he sat down to figure out a new problem.
How was the new trip to the store going to fit into the budget? As he sat down, he had no idea how, just that it needed to.