My Two Cents

I took my kids to the drive-in tonight to see Despicable Me. We cleaned out the back of the van, put the back seats down, threw in some blankets and mini-chocolate bars, and away we went! They were all so excited to go, even the youngest, and I'm not completely convinced that he fully understood what we were doing until we got there. But with such energy from the other two, it was understandable that he was excited too!

I won't spoil any of the movie plot, because it really has no bearing on what I'm writing in this post. But I will say that the overall movie was well done, very funny, quite appropriate for all ages, and it did have a moral at the end. I had a fabulous time sitting in the back of my van, watching my kids stare at the movie screen and laugh. We ate popcorn and chocolate in the dark, my legs and ankles got bit up by mosquitoes (even after I put bug spray on....damn mosquitoes), and even though we left after only one movie, it made for a verrrrrry long night. But it was so worth it. My oldest son thanked me I don't know how many times, and they talked about their favorite parts of the movie the whole way home.

I have always been very .... stingy, I guess is a good word, with money. I enjoy spending it, but I think sometimes I know I enjoy spending it, so I overcompensate in the other direction and try really hard to find ways and reasons not to spend any money. (Just to be clear, this method has usually backfired on me, and someone in the family ends up getting upset.) So I've allowed myself to treat the kids to something that costs a little money every now and then. We don't eat out every night, but it's ok if I would rather order pizza on Friday instead of cooking the steak that's been thawing in the sink all day. It's ok to take them to the drive in, even for one movie, because it's a heck of a lot less expensive and more intimate than a movie theater. It's ok to buy my son a Slim Jim once in a while just because he likes them. It's ok to go bowling now and then because I know they all enjoy it, and chances are we'll all have a really great time.

Spending money comes (too) naturally to me. Spending money wisely (or at least not stupidly) has been a learned experience, and is one I'm still working to improve. Money definitely is not everything. Yes, it helps, but we've all heard the success "Cinderella" stories of sports stars and celebs who came from the worst poverty since the 18th century and struggled through to make their way to the top. Not everyone is going to make their way to the tippy top, but we can all learn to appreciate what we have and how to make the most of our money and the people/things around us. We don't always need money to have a good time and enjoy the company of others. It's ok to accept that sometimes we just have to be frugal. But it's also ok to accept that once in a while it wouldn't kill us to spend a few bucks and do something awesome, something that makes us happy.