I recently read a book about American consumerism. It said we are what we buy, that where we spend our money reveals our priorities and, sometimes, our morals.
That may be true, but I think you can also learn a lot by what people DON’T have.
I know folks who ban alcohol from their homes, and others who refuse to own pets (like my beloved brother T-Bob. When the kids begged for a puppy, he got them a Chia Pet.)
Widdle Baby and I don’t own a dishwasher, garbage disposal, Cuisinart or Jenn-Aire grill. (We had a rickety gas grill, but it broke or was beaten to death by Widdle, I’m not sure which.)
We don’t have a motorcycle, boat or golf cart. There’s no video recorder, DVR or HDTV (we get by with cable and a 27” Magnavox). Nor do we have a carpet cleaner, jetted tub, important art or stainless steel appliances.
We have no designer clothes and no garage door opener, primarily because we have no garage. We do not own a single video game. My earrings and necklaces are tangled willy-nilly in a dresser drawer, because I don’t have a jewelry box.
We never sprang for heated towel racks, a bread machine or a maid. We don’t have a garbage service, because we live in the country. (Never underestimate the entertainment value of going to the dump on Saturday afternoon.)
We don’t own an ashtray. We don’t have a treadmill or a full-length mirror. (For years I didn’t think we had a scale, but I found one in Widdle’s bathroom closet last week.)
So what do we have?
We own dozens of music CDs, an iPod and subscriptions to two magazines and a music-buying service.
We have cable TV—which I’ll give up when the remote is pried from my dead fingers—and a nice oil painting in the guest room
We have piles of books—1,021 at last count—a few antiques, framed photographs and needlepoint and ancient pine floors so slanted that a dropped thimble rolls merrily from the living room through the dining room into the kitchen, skipping along until it abruptly founders in two-inch drifts of accumulated dog hair.
We own, for some reason, lots of little gilt-framed mirrors propped throughout the house. We heat cold coffee in a $36 microwave. We have a George Foreman grill, a stockpot large enough to bathe in and two blenders that haven’t been used since I moved in. We have enough food in our cupboards and freezer to feed 10 people for a month.
We own exactly three movies on DVD.
We have a lovely china hutch but no fine china. We do, however, have an impressive collection of cheap wineglasses. I have three antique porcelain plates that are stored in a drawer with the ivory damask napkins and placemats that we use maybe once a year. (What I was thinking--ivory damask?)
We own two darling little doggie sweaters that the doggie refuses to wear. I have bifocal contacts and glasses. Widdle has an electric beard trimmer.
We also have love and faith, health and laughter.
In other words, we have everything.
I bet you do, too.

Julie R. Smith, who is humbled by her wealth, can be reached at widdleswife@aol.com.