watermarkgeeks.com

Ever have those days when you wonder about the choices you’ve made?  I had one of these moments today at lunch.  I was sitting at one of those restaurants that seem to think that the tables naturally should be less than a foot apart so that there are no private conversations.  As I wasn’t “trying” to listen in, I had no choice but to overhear the conversation of the two professional looking ladies seated at the table next to me.  They were talking about their weekend plans.

One was flying down to the coast with the family. Her husband’s managing partner has a boat and will be taking their kids out fishing in the gulf.  The other was flying to meet her husband in Vail for a corporate ski trip weekend.  “Kids are going to have a great time.”  “What a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

That got me thinking.  I worked in the corporate world for a number of years where the pay was great and the perks were often better.  Frankly I don’t miss the travel, the long hours, and the lifestyle.  Then again, I’ve had the award trip to Cabo, the free fancy dinners.  I don’t feel like I missed out.

But then there are my kids.  Their daddy works in full time ministry, we sleep two kids to a room in a 3 bedroom house, and we take a road trips to take advantage of a free timeshare in Branson.  It’s very different from what I heard at lunch.

So I struggle with it from time to time.  I want my kids to have those kinds of experiences.  I also understand that money certainly doesn’t create memories or buy happiness.  So I think it is a balance of sorts.  I don’t feel like the god of materialism is alive and growing in my heart.  I don’t often want “the next cool thing”, but I do want great experiences with my kids.  Are the nice trips and expensive things just a salve to cover the wounds from time lost with mom and dad?   How do others work through this?