Princess Sassy had lobster and king crab, while her groom dined on mussels, prawns, and snow crab... Yum!
Well, I assume it was yum, as I haven't tasted all of those things myself... Particularly lobster.
Princess Bossy ate lobster, cooked fresh, in New England during her senior year of college.You see, our kids occasionally do things that we've questioned. --Bossy's trip to Boston in the midst of finishing college while facing imminent payments on 2 college loans. Prince Stoic's flight to New York alone (including navigating his way from JFK to Northern NY) to visit a friend while he was in college. Sassy and Steadfast have purchased kayaks and done a lot of day-tripping while facing a few more years of college tuition, as well as married-life expenses.
It's not the actual activities or purchases, but the financial ramifications that concern us. We keep saying things like "Don't you know you're starving college students?" But...
I am (terminally) practical and Hubby is (fatally) frugal. Our week-long honeymoon in Lake Tahoe became 3 days at a lodge a couple hours' drive away. We don't travel. We rarely go out on dates. The most we've ever done for our anniversary in 27 years is go out to dinner; dinners that never included lobster. "It's too expensive." Not that our lives are 'funless,' but our fun has been on a quieter, smaller scale, and mostly, there have been other ways we think we need to spend our time and money.
But life is short, and getting shorter. We still live month-to-month, constantly concerned about our own finances... So would a lobster dinner along the way really have made such a difference? Living life with 8 kids on one income has financial limitations, but definitely offers joys and blessings others don't experience. We've done our best. I think that, in retrospect, there could have been a better balance. The princesses both tell me that they weren't all that impressed with lobster, and don't really carry any wish to have it again. I thought I was missing something all this time. At least the girls won't get to 52 and just wonder.
Our kids seem to be making the most of opportunities and moments in a way I haven't been able to. It just might be OK to reach out there and live a little more once in awhile. I'm so glad they do!
Logging you in...
kmgard 24p · 657 weeks ago
P.S. Go get a nice dinner. I realized my mother is the same way -- she and Ed never go enjoy themselves because they're always so concerned about money. Finally, Justin and I bought them a $150 gift card to a fabulous restaurant in downtown Denver. I had to specifically tell her to spend it all IN ONE SITTING, otherwise they would've split their meal, skipped dessert, and drank water just so they could use the card again and again. But sometimes -- sometimes -- you just need to be opulent. You work disgustingly hard. You deserve it. ;)
My recent post The Hotel California Ain’t Got Nothin’ On the Hotel del Coronado.
RHome410 71p · 657 weeks ago
What a wonderful thing you did for your mom! I laughed when you described what she would've done, because it sounds so totally practical and reasonable to me!
Beth · 656 weeks ago
But you do need to go out to a nice dinner every once in a while. But a friend did tell me that sometimes when she and her Hubby want to feel like they had an expensive date night, they go someplace cheap for dinner (or do picnic) then head over to some really nice place for dessert and coffee.