What would I be doing if I never had kids?

What would I be doing if I never had kids?

This is my entry for the Thinking Homeschoolers Essay. Since I’m usually too busy to think, I haven’t participated yet, but today is different.

This subject came up on the day my oldest child turned 11.

My parenting journey has been a difficult one, but I cannot imagine life without my children.

Parenting was not something I always imagined doing. In fact, one of my sisters and I had a little “no kids” pact. We had a bond between us. She held on to her no kids ideal. I did not. And I can’t even say why I changed my mind. I was 33 when I had my first child. I wasn’t driven to have children, but I was also afraid NOT to have them. I guess I felt like the regret of not having them would be harder to deal with than the regret of having them. Sometimes I look at my childfree sister and envy her life. But probably more often I do not envy her. My children are as much a source of joy as they are pain. They are most certainly a source of pride.

One thing I do not regret is giving up my career. After seventeen years, I called it quits. My youngest was almost 4, my oldest was 6. That was 4 ½ years ago and I have never looked back. Yes, I miss the income. It was nothing to sneeze at, it was half. And I bitch unmercifully about spending money now. It is a small price to pay for the joy of being here with my children and watching them grow.

There is no way I could ever say what I would be doing now if I never had kids. They have changed my life forever. Some days I think it is changed for the better, some days I think it is changed for the worse. That is just the nature of parenting. Before kids, I really had nothing to be proud of. A career, yes. But I wasn’t passionate about it, nor about anything else. Now I am passionate about being the best parent I can be to my three boys.

Happy Birthday Simon!

May 30, 2008 | Filed Under Parenting | 5 Comments 

Subway. Yum! Yum!

Yep. Not only do we eat at Subway FREQUENTLY, we also make Subway sandwiches at home. And we call it that too. Is that illegal? Well, anyway, we LOVE Subway. We love their subs. Ward Cleaver eats there several times a week for lunch, and I take the kids there at least 3 times a month for lunch. We used to go more often before we discovered that we could buy all the ingredients for a sandwich at the grocery store and make them at home and everyone is just as happy (for less money!). The kids will say, “What’s for dinner?” I’ll say, “Subway!” We all know that means I’m gonna slap a bunch of lunch meat on a sub roll with cheese and other yummy stuff and broil it for a couple of minutes.

I still love Subway despite all the ridiculous hype. Honestly! HSLDA is getting involved now? Pah-leeeeze. I’m not signing the petition. Is there an opposite to a boycott? Like can I eat at Subway every night for a week to offset some the boycotters?

I think that Subway should have been a little more creative, but it is understandable that they would automatically think home schools equals individuals and eliminated them from the big prize. It is just another example of people thinking they get us. They don’t. But it doesn’t warrant a boycott. That’s just silly.

May 27, 2008 | Filed Under Rants, Moods and Attitude | 6 Comments 

The Calm After The Storm

So, after the scary skies, we had the most beautiful sunset! This picture taken perhaps 1 hour after the scary sky picture!

Sunset After Storm

And then all good things must come to an end, and we returned home. The ride was mostly uneventful, which is amazing for a 5 hour drive with three small boys. I never thought I’d EVER say this, but thank God for Nintendo DS. And if we could figure out a way to put invisible shields between the kids, we could trade our 20 mpg (highway, but only 14 city) car for something more fuel efficient. The kids think that everything has been invented that can be invented (didn’t someone famous say that about 150 years ago?), but I think there is still money to be made here.

But all is well when you can leave home for a week and come home to this:

Strawberry Heaven

May 27, 2008 | Filed Under Trips and Travel, Fun Stuff | 3 Comments 

Scary Sky

So the sky last night was scary, but really neat at the same time.  I love the beach.

NC Sky

May 21, 2008 | Filed Under Trips and Travel | 8 Comments 

No Explanation Necessary…

Damn Shoes

May 10, 2008 | Filed Under Rants, Moods and Attitude | 12 Comments 

Spinal Tap Makes the Top 25!

OK, this is really funny (and it is Tuesday’s news, but I’m just so busy homeschooling my kids it takes awhile to post HA!).

Yahoo Music posted a list of the day of called The 25 Best Hair Metal Bands and number 9 was Spinal Tap. That’s pretty good for a fictitious band.

Spinal Tap

It would have been better if they made it number 11, don’t you think?

 

May 2, 2008 | Filed Under Fun Stuff | 5 Comments