We order a lot online. It actually saves us money as well as costs for transportation and time.

We would NEVER use a debit card to order online. EVER. You have no recourse.

That is why we use credit cards.

We pay off the full balance each month.

You simply cannot pay cash for a lot of things these days. (We also use paypal, but again, we link it to a credit card, not our bank accounts, to protect ourselves.)

We’re actually doing what the “experts” recommend to protect yourself from identity theft.

RE: Being available for your children

There’s a huge difference between doing things for your children and being at their beck and call, which, I’ve seen, in many families where what started out as a few “activities” has turned into nonstop scheduling and driving around.

I’m sorry, but time in a car with folks rushing to be somewhere, eating in the car, not at a dining table, and parents and kids overwhelmed by fatigue (emotional and physical) is NOT quality family time.

Parents arguing with each other when they have to seriously disrupt work schedules to accommodate their kids activities schedules is not a way to feel closer to each other.

I won’t even get into all the craziness that surrounds some parents and their kids when it comes to sports. How the parents hound their kids about performance and competition, etc. to the point that children hate sports.

I believe in family time, but it’s about real time with each other doing something you all enjoy, or can enjoy. About sitting together at meals, not each person jumping up and down to go somewhere else or get picked up, etc. but sitting together and just relaxing and talking with each other.

We actually agree. I’m only saying that the ideal is not always achievable and if we could accept that, even while striving to improve our experiences, it’d be easier.

Too many people think that if only they could get “organized” it would all fall into place.

Some of the most out of control people I know are those who seem to be “organized.” Look closely and it’s their way to deal with the chaos and the reality of life, which requires true flexibility every day.

I came from a home with an “organized” parent. It was a nightmare. We kids could not enjoy anything due to our mother’s need to organize EVERYTHING. That is NOT life.

So while I believe in plans, intentions, discipline and deadlines, I know that life is far more complex and requires more openness to whatever happens. Our kids would learn more if parents would just relax and help their kids learn how to deal with the world where you can’t control what happens a lot of the time.

Life is not a calendar, schedule or game plan.

I’m working on de-thugging my place & doing some streamlining!

I also try to balance my ‘yes’ & ‘no’ to projects I feel good about.

Thank you,
Matt