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by Claire

My son will be 13 years old tomorrow.  I’m so excited!  I’m heading to bed early tonight because he has requested a birthday breakfast and that’s going to require waking up pretty early.  I want to share that even my approach to birthday celebrations is different these days.  In the past it would have been breakfast and supper out and maybe even lunch too!  Then it would have been a separate birthday party for his friends.  There would have been balloons and cardS and several “small” gifts plus a “big” one.  All of that now sounds absurd to me and, fortunately, to the kids too.  We’ll be dining in for all meals tomorrow as I planned his favorite meals with the regular grocery store trip this week.  He’s having 7 friends over on Saturday night to have a video game tournament.  I’m sure you’ve heard of those “video game truck/trailers” that charge an obscene amount of money for 2 or 3 hours of video game play.  With the help of friends, we are putting together our own video game tournament that sounds like it is going to be much more fun. By simply asking to borrow things, we will have four televisions and four x-boxes to use and they can play all night. We are setting up the four televisions at the center of our large 6×6 square table in a manner allowing 2 boys to stand in front of each tv.  If you play video games this likely means more to you than it did to me when my friend initially helped us think this up!  I’ve talked to parents and gotten their agreement and I will be a wee bit OCD and label everything that comes in the door so that it all makes it back out the door.  I’m ordering cheap pizza and making some chicken wings and calling it a party!  I don’t think I will have ever spent so little and my son and his friends are thrilled.

This may not sound like much to you financially savvy types but I can see my progress.  I can see the progress of my kids.  The vast majority of people in my “circle” pay the $500 for the video trailer thing even when they may not really have that kind of money.  I know I have a long, long way to go but these types of decisions WILL get me there.  Thank you so much for the many kind comments this week.  They often came exactly when I needed them to!  As one reader said this is a process.  I didn’t get here fast and there is not a quick exit ramp–especially given my marital situation.