The kids distracted by a movie during dessert …
At the beginning of our trip, the boys and I were invited over to an old friend’s house for dinner. By old I mean we’ve all known each other since we were kids, and the stories are simply endless. Between us we have 5 kids, and they all get along well so the adults actually had time to talk without interruption! Reflecting on the trip, I realized that it’s been rather a long time since we’ve had people over, other than for a party.
Image courtesy of quinet via FlickrI worry all the time that I’m ruining my kids. That they’re learning bad habits, being turned neurotic by my parenting, or feeling misunderstood. It’s part of parenting, and I know I’m not alone in it. It still sucks. I also know that I’m not my mom, nor are my kids childhoods anything like mine was. This sometimes makes me ashamed, as I compare aspects of my past to their present, and come up wanting in the patience and calm categories.I know, I know, it’s virtually impossible with kids! However, I’ll bet you can get away with a lot less than you think.
I sometimes write articles for Hip Slope Mama, and think you might enjoy this month’s entry about my bag-lady roots.
Here’s a snippet …
I am a bag lady, and proud of it. It’s an honorable profession in my family, made so by my 92-year-old grandmother whose bag I first dug treasures out of during church. By my definition, bag ladies are always ready to go, have a good pinch of wanderlust, and love people. They don’t require much in the way of possessions, but focus on being ready to roll when the opportunity arises.
It’s hard to stay in touch with my true bag-lady roots when just leaving the house in the morning requires a lunch bag, toy, and pillow for the strollered one, a backpack, snack, and shoelace help for the elder son, and keys/phone/breakfast/running gear for me.
Check out the rest of the article here.