We live in a world where more means better. More shoes, more clothes, more toys, more cars, more house = better. Right? This is ingrained in us by this materialistic society. Have you heard of the saying "The more you have, the more you want". So at what point do you have enough? At what point do you find happiness? In 20 years will you be happy that you have a closet full of clothes or will you even remember the 331 different toys you bought your kids? I'd rather remember an awesome trip to Disney world or a road trip from one coast to the other. So what's my point with all of this? Focusing less on "stuff" gives you more time for experiences. When it comes to parenting, we focus so much on our kids having the latest toys and electronics. For Christmas, parents go out and buy every single toy out there and literally drown the Christmas tree with gifts. Then, we post these pictures of the overwhelmed tree on Facebook. What are we trying to prove? The kids will play with the toys for the next 5 days and then forget about them in a cluttered playroom or bedroom. When Jayden was younger, this was us with a cluttered bedroom full of toys all over the floor. But the past few years I've purged of toys that don't get played with and focus on very few gifts for Christmas. And now we are down to just a few bins of toys sorted by categories, cars, action figures, dinosaurs, and books. Not only does this help me to not feel less anxious, but it also helps the kids keep their areas a little more neat and organized. This can also force us to be better parents. How? Because you have to spend more time with your kids. I hope that one day Jayden remembers the hours we spent playing with Pokémon cards... yea I'm a pro now (which by the way can help with math skills and reading skills for a young child). Or that he remembers our record of "how many times can we catch the football back and forth before we drop it" (currently at 54 passes back and forth). And I hope he remembers the victories that are to come from playing the memory game with his father who won't let him win. That time spent with us is what I hope he remembers. So I'm gonna keep focusing on more time and experiences, as hard as it can be. We all come home tired from work and most of us find it easier to come home and lounge it up while telling our kids to go to their room and play. But this era of them wanting to play with us and spend time with us doesn't last long. So I'm gonna try to take advantage of it while it's still here. maybe they'll be smarter for it, but if not, at least I hope they love me for it, and that they are happier because of it.
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AuthorsJust four married friends here to discuss relationships, life-changing events, parent-hood, religion, race & trending topics. Archives
January 2018
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