Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

I always wanted kids!

... and I got it in my head that I must have them before I turned 30!

Of course, now-a-days, the trend is to have your children in your 30s. I don't know if that is a generational fad or the result of economic realities. Probably the latter.

I also wanted to stay home to raise them. That was hard for two reasons: it meant living on one salary - half of what we were used to, and I missed working - a lot. But we managed. We didn't have all the bells and whistles that our working friends had. We didn't own a single family home or drive fancy cars. Money was tight all the time. But my husband and I didn't come from financially comfortable homes when we were single so it wasn't such a large step back for us at the time.

I blogged about these two wonderful people who are my kids on their birthdays during the last year - here for my son, and here for my daughter. There is so much more to say.

I hit the jack pot with both kids. They have grown into adults who I love, admire and respect. They are responsible productive adults. They hold strong opinions on the value of family relationships. They are there for me when I need a helping hand. You can't ask for more than that in the children you raise. The world is a better place with them in it ... especially for me.

Here are a few other pictures that tell the story of their growing up more eloquently than any words of mine.




There are many things I would do differently if I lived my life over. Having kids is not one of those things ... I knew in my core I would be a mom!
And if I had been given the opportunity in advance to select the two individuals who would be my kids, I would have chosen exactly these two.


10 comments:

Linda said...

What a lovely post, I am so sorry I missed knowing your son and daughter as they grew up but am lucky to be getting to know them as adults. You raised 2 wonderful people.

Anonymous said...

What lovely looking young people they are.

DebD said...

I feel the same way about my kids too. Wouldn't change that part of my life for anything. You have beautiful children, btw.

Chatty Crone said...

Two wonderful adults you have there - I stayed at home and had kids in my early 20's too.

ipkristin said...

Haha, I love the last pic! I look like I'm going to sock Matt in the face. Priceless!!!

Noofy said...

Great looking kids. I can tell how proud you are, so you should be! Great post!

Retired Knitter said...

Frenchie Mom - never saw your fist until you pointed it out.

Moms only see the good things - those two smiling faces.

Besides, your brother has 2 Black Belts in Martial arts - a fist would be no problem for him.

:-)

Lindabee said...

Loved this post. I also had kids before 30 (4 of them), and stayed home to raise them. During the 80's, hubby didn't work for 5 years. Money was so tight, but love was abundant. We thought we were depriving our kids, but they felt blessed to have both parents at school functions. Now life is better, hubby has a great job, all the kids are grown and live within 5 minutes of us. Thanks for sharing.

g-girl said...

In this day and age, I wanted kids before 30 (heck, I wanted to be married before then first) and I wanted to stay home to raise them too. None of that has panned out..but at least I'm married now. lol. they seem close your children. :)

Empty Nest Insider said...

I enjoyed seeing your beautiful children! Sounds like you did an excellent job raising them! Julie