(For the non-geek the tile is Objective C code. Roughly translated it means I'm now in a Maintenance mode of life.)

More than a year ago I wrote how my life has decidedly been in a survival mode; I was doing what I could just to keep my head above the metaphorical water. I'm not altogether sure what I mean by “it could be worse, I could be in Maintenance Mode” because I am now in that mode, and I consider it an improvement. It's an improvement, but by no means where I would like to be. In truth, I feel like we (my wife and I) are hovering on that fine line between Maintenance and Survival, and that is a precarious position to be in for sure.

There is a remarkable difference between survival and maintenance. In the former everything was about making it to the next day/week/month; all the bills were a threat to plunge me into entropy. Every month was a fight and struggle to keep what we had worked hard to obtain. It's a cramped way to live, and leads to all kinds of stress and civil unrest. Eventually the dyke has more holes in it than the little Dutch boy has fingers, and something bad happens. Not too long ago my wife and I realized we aren't living like that (so much) anymore.

We are now in a rather stale mode of life, one where we are reasonably certain nothing drastic will happen to threaten our lifestyle. We can pay all our bills and we have money left over to splurge on a regular basis (and by splurge I mean I can buy books and board games). Maintenance mode means we can maintain what we have, relax in the comfort we've created, and in small doses indulge ourselves with a few luxuries. Of course, as I said, we are on the edge of falling back into Survival mode, meaning I'm not always certain things will work out.

It's a relief to be making progress toward a Progressive mode of life, and we can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but that could be an oncoming train and no light at all. We are still recovering from the loss of my job more than two years ago, and still waiting for that day when we'll have the resources (time and/or money) to work on the house and make our life just a little bit better. We are still waiting for that day before we can seriously consider children. Things are still too precarious and stressful, but maybe, just maybe, we'll mange to get our household in order and create new life and new joys.

Life is getting better, if not slowly.