Well, I’m back after a very long period of writer’s block. Writer’s block, combined with a very busy summer, lots on my mind and, ummm…writer’s block. I recently came across an interesting quote by Ernest Hemingway, that hack writer. Anyway, he said “Worry destroys the ability to write.” And to that I say: Truer words were never spoke. But an even better quote from him is this: “If something is broken, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.” I wholeheartedly agree. As my grandma used to say, to worry is to borrow trouble. No point in that. However, I AM a parent and worry is the constant companion of every parent. It’s just part of the deal. So, let’s do a little word problem…
One Praying Parent (Novena-Rosary-or-Name Your Personal Prayer Style) directly correlates to One Child whirling through life’s foibles TIMES number of Said Children TIMES the number of Hours in a Day TIMES the Entire Lifetime of Said Children = One Crazy Parent PLUS at LEAST one, probably very annoyed, Patron Saint. (Yes, this particular math problem is a Catholic one, but by no means excludes non-Catholic parents – we’re all in this together.)
As you can tell from that equation, I really stink at math. But you probably get the point. Being a parent ain’t easy. That said, my kids are easily the BEST thing that ever happened to me, as I’m sure yours are. And, as much as I blame them for my current state of financial ruin, the truth is that they’re probably only responsible for maybe 75% of it. Possibly less… But I’m gonna say probably not.
So, yes, financial disaster is part of my ongoing worry. But, like any parent, I also worry about my kids growing into mature, honorable and deep-down GOOD people. Oh and about them getting jobs, too. Jobs that will not only pay the bills, but will fill them with excitement so they will be able to LIVE life, rather than just survive it. They don’t have to be millionaires (but I’ve advised them not to rule it out) to live happily and contentedly. I’ve often repeated this quote from one of my sons because I love it and it makes me proud. When speaking of his career plans, he said, “My goals in life aren’t confined to a paycheck.” When I hear that, I know these kids of mine are so worth my being broke. As parents, we sacrifice. We’ve given everything we have to provide our kids the opportunity to go out into the world and make good use of the gifts they’ve been given. I mean, what the heck, it’s only money…right?
PS: My son’s two short essays on the life of a musician can be found here: http://pjnmusic.blogspot.com/
PS…they’re good 😊
Life on a Box Wine Budget 