Took my daughter to her first dance class this weekend. I never thought I'd be one of those Mom's who runs their kids here and there on the weekends, but now I realize why they do it - to wear their kids out so they can get some rest! I am not sure how I am going to cut it with the 8:30 a.m. start time, but I am going to give it a shot. I follow that with story time at Barnes and Noble, then lunch, then I can get a good two-three hours to myself on the weekend!! We start gymnastics at the end of the month - ok, so I AM that mother!! But I do want her to experience things for more than the fact that I get a break - music, dance, culture. I want her to see past her neighborhood, past her city, past her country. At two, she has a stamped passport. While my husband and I made a few Caribbean trips with her, thanks to a little help from Mom, she saw Europe this summer.
Why am I over 40 with my mom takng me on vacation? Maybe I should say thank God. She's from that last line of people who actually retire with a great pension, no debt and their homes paid for in full. Married at 19, divorced at 42 and remarried, she started early and finished early. My generation - well at least for those of us from a city environment- we married late and started late on everything. I laughed when we signed the note on our 30-year mortgage. There is no way in hell I will be paying a mortgage for 30 years. I don't care what I have to do but it will be paid off early. I love my neighborhood and plan to stay put and pay it off early. I don't understand why people want to jump and move to bigger, better. I picked a nice house in a nice neighborhood and this is where we plan to raise our family. We have a relatively new baby and a new home, but I am not 25, I'm 45 and I am thinking of retirement.
I love that I lived my life, traveled the world, started my business at 28, owned my own home before I was married, but would I advise my daughter to do it that way? Eh - not so much! I'd like her to start a little earlier on the family side, build together with her husband but still be independent. But I want her to be done by the time she's my age, not just starting!
I have some friends who are almost done - with kids in highschool and/or college, a few who are like me - married later (after 35) and had kids late, but I also have just as many who are my age, never married, no kids. It's going to be interesting to see how we all pan out with our choices. I don't regret anything - all of the fools I dated were necessary for me to meet and appreciate my husband, but again, I still can't say that's what I'd want for my daughter.
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