I told them a long time ago that I wasn't smart enough to make those 2 liter flip flops on Pinterest. We save money where we can.
We do pretty well on what I make. I made a vow to my lover that I will always keep. I wanted a stay at home dad, and that is exactly what I wanted.
My children understand most of the time. I know they understand how hard I try. Do they know what it's like to struggle, or do I actually want them too? This brings me to a story.
A long time ago when Wyatt (10y/o) was around 3 or 4, I had picked him up from daycare and as I was driving home he ask me for an ice cream from Dairy Queen. I was exhausted and broke, driving on fumes and only conscious because I cannot sleep sitting up. I told him no, we didn't have any money. He paused and tipped his head before he calmly replied, "I'm tired of never havin' no fuckin' money." I was shocked but I have made a point of never punishing the children if they complain about something legitimate and that day I also made the decision not to punish if they curse and it is in context.
When I was their age I had no idea about video games or computers. Internet had not been invented and the only computer game I was ever exposed to was Oregon Trail. Things like renting a VCR for your birthday were commonplace and you had the option of Beta or VHS. For the younger generation its the difference between a regular DVD and a HD BluRay DVD, that was the size of a Buick.
My social life consisted of combing my perfect mullet (yes, 7th grade and it was hot) and dreaming of getting my teeth fixed. Yep, I was a dreamer.
I know now you are remembering your mullet days. Laugh all you want but everyone that was cool in my generation had a mullet, and a pair of parachute pants. I was not cool enough for those, but I did have one pair of "jam" shorts. These are all worthless terms to those who did not grow up in the same era as I did, but I will try to explain.
Parachute pants were pants made of some type of material that just emanated cool. They signified that you were untouchable, and not to be messed with. It also came with social responsibilities of keeping the dream alive. The kids who had parachute pants and jelly shoes were the kids that eventually grew into their daybeds. Those that were exceptionally cool had both parachute pants and a Michael Jackson jacket to accentuate their permed mullets. Only one or two ever crossed this girls path.....
These are the same kids who played ball and thought I was funny. They invited me into their groups as the jester and now I know now they did me a favor. I developed my keen sense of humor, they must have realized parachute pants wouldn't come in a 2XL.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachutepant
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