Winning the rat race

I have to tell ya. Now that I'm older I am finding that I learn more lessons from my kids than any parenting advice I'll ever get from my best friend. Sorry Stripper! It's the truth.

Christmas at the in-laws a few yrs ago.

Recently, I've been back and forth with this stomach bug. It's wearing me down. And I'm finding that it's breaking my Christmas spirit a little. I told my 15 yr old yesterday that I wasn't sure how Christmas would go this year.....I wasn't sure if we would be doing gifts. During the summer my husband got jipped out of a very large paycheck from a shady character and it just seemed to snowball from there. Then on top of that child support stopped coming in. I went from only driving the kids to and from school every other week to now driving them back and forth every single week! I never realized how much money it cost to drive them til we didn't have it coming in!

Christmas will be in our hearts this year. Where it should be.

 My son looked at me and said "I'm okay with that Mom". My kids.......the only thing I feel like I've done right sometimes. They teach me it isn't about what you get, it's not about what you put in a box and top with a bow. My kids, as teenagers know more than I did at 21. They know what is important. They know the importance of family. They make me feel like I'm winning this rat race this holiday season.