my current boss is really a great guy. i walked in on him arguing with his mechanic whom he has had for many years. kenny, the mechanic, wanted to buy bens old truck & re-sell it at a profit. ben said that was an old truck and he wants to sell it to someone who needs a truck at a price that they can afford and be able to afford to fix the impending problems that come along with a truck of that high of mileage and age. kenny said it is worth $7000 and ben said he'd rather give it away to a working man that will keep it & then be able to afford fix it. this is really how this guy is in every interaction in business and his personal life.
he can be judgmental but not particularly overboard. he's also a bit racist. his daughter's son has a african american girlfriend and she won't tell ben because she knows he'll react poorly. i usually don't even associate with a person that is even slightly racist. alas, i'm here in missouri and ben is generally one of the most noble people i have met--and i don't think that racial climate change is far off.
we had a water-test/sales-pitch last night. we have really hard water and it is probably the reason why our soap performs poorly here and that tabitha has trouble with making bread. also it probably affects our dishwasher's performance. but we cannot afford the solution that they have presented. i need to research this water softener/filter solution and see if i can install something myself for much less money.
mostly i'd like to get the chlorine out of our drinking water. i guess the cistern/rainwater should come into play here instead of a pricey water filtration system. this kinda puts a different slant on the need for a better rain water collection mechanism. hummmmm........
the kids went to sleep early and tabitha and i got some excellent "alone time" sitting next to the fire and talking. it was really nice it is odd how kids can swindle every bit of "that time" away from a couple. i imagine if we were normal parents and left our kids with other people this wouldn't be as dramatic. but damn-it they are our kids and we are "the parents" and don't want them raised with someone else’s values or lack-there-of. both tabitha and i feel that childhood is such a special time and we want to nurture their every subtle potential. we want to know (really know) our kids and we covet every bit of time with them because they are our joy and some other temporary guardian would certainly not feel the same way about them.
4 comments:
having kids can put such a strain on relationships. i can't even remember the last time greg and i got a bit of alone time...i feel the same way...i don't want to dump my kids off with someone else, especially when i know jaden will be miserable the entire time we're gone.
it's hard keeping a balance though.
definitely, rain water would solve your water problems! we are currently contemplating how we can make a great catchment system to use for ourselves.
I think it's admirable that you two parent the way that you do, despite the pressure to drop kids off with someone all the time so you can do as you please, you know?
I strive to remember that we have our children for a reason. I love my son and almost-daughter. Sure there are days where I would love to dump that responsibility on someone else so dh and I could escape, but like you and Tabitha, we feel strongly about nurturing them with our values and it also comes down to a trust/protection thing. At least with me. I trust myself and dh.
Anyhoo, I'm glad you mentioned that the water test is a sales pitch. I was telemarketed the other day and agreed to have the water test done (they said it was free). When I hung up the phone, dh said that they were going to try and sell us some sort of purifying system. I didn't believe him ::blush:: but now I will cancel that appt. Who wants to hear a spiel abot water on a Saturday morning anyway?
Sorry for the massive comment.
thanks everyone, we knew this was a tough job when we got into it but i didn't know how tough. especially trying to maintain such high ideals. everyday challenges the boundries that we thought were set in stone and usually they get crushed and revised boundries get established only to be challenged usually the very next day.
as i'm sitting here drinking an "easy-now" tea.
Yes, the couple time is a challenge. Luckily, Mike's parents are fantastic and totally respect the way we are raising Rosaline. Rosaline ADORES spending time with them, so it works out well. That said, we've still only left her with them 3 times in her life so far. (Though more will be coming in December) When I left them yesterday she was hugging her "Nanny" and happily said "bye Mama!" Nice.
But the alone time... that's another reason we started adjusting Rosaline's bedtime until 8PM. We were starving for each other's company sans bebe. It gives us a couple of precious evening hours to spend together in the next room, she still always has one (or often both,) of us with her until she is firmly asleep, and she is MUCH happier now in the mornings. Wakes up chipper and happy instead of groggy and crabby.
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