accepting my low material desires

As a child, I had stronger material desires, but as the days went by, these desires gradually weakened. I thank heaven and my parents for this. I was never interested in luxury cars, watches, or brands and often forgot their names. This made me feel embarrassed when talking to friends because I didn’t know the brands they mentioned. However, now I find this lifestyle more relaxed and carefree.

My wife is a normal woman. When I first met her, I noticed her attitude towards spending money was very different from mine, because I’m not very normal in this aspect.

I remember the first gift I gave her was a gold bracelet. This was my mom’s idea, saying that gold retains its value, haha. In the first few years of our relationship, I bought her birthday gifts two or three times, but after that, I stopped buying gifts. Sorry about that~

I’m grateful she is willing to tolerate me. She knows I lack a sense of security and has never asked me to buy luxury brands or insisted that I spend money. For daily necessities, she doesn’t always expect me to pay. The places we spend the most money are on food and playing sports, which are small expenses that don’t affect our quality of life.

We dated for eighteen years and have been married for four. In these twenty-two years, we’ve only been to Japan once and Taiwan five times, with the fifth time being when we immigrated. She knows I don’t like traveling and understands my desire to save money while young to prepare for a better future.

For a normal person, my wife has sacrificed a lot for me. I thank heaven for giving me a wife who is easily satisfied. Even now, she is happy to take the bus with me. The bus system in Taichung is very convenient and comfortable, thank you Taichung.

We can be happy eating instant noodles and spreading bread, and we love hot pot. There are many hot pot places in Taichung, and many have great value, especially since we only eat one meal a day, making all-you-can-eat vegetable bars our favorite. We eat a lot each time and never waste food, thank you farmers.

My wife has changed a lot for me, and being with her is completely stress-free. Especially since we recently bought our own house, life has become even more relaxed. Thank you, my wife, thank you, heaven.

My wife even gave up her dream wedding for me because I don’t like weddings and was worried that planning it might cause disagreements and affect our relationship. It’s really not easy to ask a woman to give up her lifelong dream just for my promise: "Save the wedding money for a better life in the future."

Thank you for believing in me, and thank you again for having more confidence in me than I do. For someone like me who often fake cries and never grows up, I don’t know where my wife’s confidence comes from.

Recently, as we plan to decorate our new home, my wife originally thought I wouldn’t want to spend money. I used to think that decorating was a waste, and if the house was in good condition, we could move in with just basic furniture.

But I told her that we are almost fifty years old, although my mental age is only 12, haha. Since we will live in this house for many years, we should renovate it well within our means, especially the kitchen. My wife loves cooking, and it was one of the reasons I approached her. Later, I discovered she had many other qualities that took years to uncover. I guess there will be more to discover in the future. Thank you, heaven, yay~

Talking about renovation is exciting, but my nature isn’t that excited. Haha, thank you, my wife, for always compromising on the renovation until one day I finally reached her limit. She said, "A dishwasher is my dream, and I won’t give it up." Wow, thank you, heaven, my wife’s dream has shifted from a grand wedding to a dishwasher. If I still objected, would I still be human? Okay, let’s buy it, as long as you’re happy.

Yesterday, I shifted my focus to the kitchen cabinets. I said the current cabinets are pretty, and changing the doors would make them look good. But my wife wasn’t aiming for aesthetics; she wanted durable and easy-to-clean materials because the kitchen accumulates grease and mold easily. It’s all for my health. Sorry, I didn’t know that. Fake cry~ Wife, don’t be unhappy~

Thank you, heaven, for giving me a good-natured wife. Thank you, my wife, for always tolerating, understanding, and taking care of me. I hope in the future, we can continue to maintain our current relaxed and happy life. I am already very content.

I wish my wife’s husband could gradually become more generous so she doesn’t have too much pressure. And I wish you, the reader of this article, peace, health, happiness, and joy.

July 2024