We are in a season now with constant activity. I hate it, personally. I love kids getting to participate, but I hate promising my Saturdays away to soccer or girl scouts or birthday parties. I am also in a season where it feels like my kids are getting all of our hard earned money. (Yes, we are going in to the Christmas season, so that might have something to do with it.)
So, the ways our kids run our lives are by time and finances. How to do you not let that happen? It's tricky and it requires you to maybe feel a little selfish sometimes. If you are like me, you are OK with walking around with holes in your shoes so your kids can have seven pairs at once. You will spend $50 at Chuck E Cheese but not spend $50 on a sitter and a good movie. You will buy the kids 10 presents each for Christmas and give each other things items you need for the house, like a toaster so you can "kill two birds with one stone". I am guilty of it as much as anyone. At some point, you have to draw the line.
I have been known to skip a soccer game so the two of us can sleep in. I have been know to rearrange the finances so we can go out on a date. I have been known to not put the kids in a multitude of activities so our lives can be a little more free. You have to do this, otherwise, the kids are the boss of all things, and I just don't want that to happen. We all only have so much money and time - for 18 years (and after) my kids are not going to get it all. We are all so willing to sacrifice for 18 years for our kids - but guess what. 18 years is a fifth of our OWN lives. It's OK if every once in a while, you use your time and money for yourself instead of for them. Not all the time, but once in a while.
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