Lucky?

I chucked the bike up on the roof rack today, put the trailer in the boot and set off to Lake Burley Griffin for a ride with the boys. Its a nice sunny day and not too warm so it was lovely down at the lake. We didnt go all that far as im not familiar with the circuit yet. I didnt want to end up on the wrong side of the lake when it was time to go home for their naps. To cycle the whole way round I think its about 37km, so it would be a decent ride with the trailer attached and an extra 40 or 50kg bouncing along behind!. Today we just went a few kms and found a park for a play and had some lunch, not a bad way to spend a morning. 

As I was getting the boys in the car to go home and packing the trailer and bike up, a friendly lady on her way to work called out and asked if I knew what the date was. Im barely able to remember what day it is and constantly un-aware of dates so I dumbly replied 'Not sure, sorry'. She figured it out by looking at her parking ticket. As she walked off she admired the boys in the trailer and commented on how 'lucky' we were that I didnt have to go to work today. I smiled and agreed with her as she briskly walked away to get to work on time.

I guess I am quite lucky not to have to work and spend all this time with the kids. On the other hand this is what we have chosen to do. We could easily have Sam and Lucas in childcare and me be out working aswell earning us more money, but thats not what we are about. While the boys are so young, its definately a time to hold onto and appreciate as it doesnt last very long. Soon they will all be teenagers looking to move out! We would most definately regret it if we missed a big part of all their young years stressing about income.

Living to work? Or working to live?

There is obviously a need for money, especially with a growing family. Basketball has helped enable us to buy and sell houses in the past and obtain the things we need. Thankfully now Jem has found a good stable job and is doing really well. We want to just make things work, get by and enjoy our time as a young family rather than stressing about how much money we 'need' and missing this precious time and the big picture. 

If we have a roof over our heads, food in our belly's, clothes on our backs and enough time to enjoy life then its happy days. An example - 50 inch HD LCD TV, nice. Or a week away with the family enjoying each others company, nicer.

Lucky? I think we are just fortunate we have worked out exactly what makes us happy.