Saturday, February 15, 2003

. . . I often wonder how my parents survived raising my sister and me and are still managed to stay married for 36 years and still going :).
I think it had a lot to do with both of my parents having their families close by while we were growing up. Every now and then, the grandparents would 'take the kids' for a few days so my parents could spend some time alone. They were't dropping us off every weekend, but often enough to spend a weekend or two alone with each other every couple of months. . . .[Original Article]
I'd like that when I have kids, I think. Live close to either my family, the inlaws, or both.

My parents had that with my mother's parents -- they were just a few blocks away, so they could help out every once in a while. They spent lots of time working and playing with us when we were small. They'd take us in when one of my parents had to go to the hospital. When I was a teenager and just couldn't get along with my mother, when our fighting was at it's worst, they'd let me go hang with my grandmother until the tension cooled some.

I get so tied down these days even just with pets. I wanted to go dance in Portland this weekend - there's a huge Tango festival going on - but I just couldn't swing it with the dog. Pet care is expensive. It's hard to get on short notice. It's hard to trust strangers with it, especially after having one or two bad experiences.

I imagine that it's many times more complicated with children.

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