I think it sounds like you are lucky! You're able to focus on what I think is most important - relationships with with important people in your life. Your daughters will be grateful that you were there for them and took an active interest in bringing them up. Many parents who have to work hard to provide the necessities fear they are missing out on the most important moments.

As a mother in your exact position I say we are lucky! I have no desire to climb a corporate ladder and miss out on my daughters growing up. I want to be able to go on field trips, pick them up from school without needing an after care or before care program and be able to sit at the dinner table every night discussing how their days were. As a regular companion on "Bread Co Saturday" I wouldn't trade that for anything. I hope that my children aren't missing the "other things" that my corporate ladder life could have brought to them and instead enjoy the time we get to spend together as a family.

We are the lucky ones - never question that!!

I don't know if "luck" has that much to do with it. You know your priorities which is different from luck. My husband and I live in a similar situation. We both had stable jobs that paid well, but once we started having kids, we realized that being with them was the priority, not the nice living room set or the big screen TV. (My kids are now old enough that they may argue that point!) So we changed our careers. We make far less money and sometimes we worry about that, but most times we do a reality check with each other, realize how fun it is to be around our family, and get over the worry quickly. I think the lesson we teach our kids is not that we're lazy or un-motivated. The lesson is that money does not equal happiness or "success."

Wow Jeff, so much thought-provoking content in one post...! Any adult who has kids, spends a lot of time with kids, knows kids or ever was a kid would NEVER classify the activities you undertake in the category of laziness. This is a question of defining your priorities and confirming them by your actions and decisions. Priorities are driven by an individual's or family's likes, dislikes, talents, values, goals, needs, assets and probably about 1,000 other considerations. Outside of some obvious exceptions, no one but you and your family can judge whether your priorities are right or wrong. And as you know, they will change over time, dictated in a big way by the changing needs, likes, goals, etc. of the children you're raising so well. Call it lucky if you will, but certainly don't call it lazy.

Jeff, You are one of the GREATEST persons I have ever met. It was a joy to work with you and know you. It only goes to show the person you are! Life is so much more fun with Pommie around :-)

There is nothing like being there for your kids. Kudos on choosing to spend time with them. The feeling of "lazy" you describe is only what I would call a mild form of guilt, because you know what? I too, as a work-at-home mom, feel slightly guilty in that man-this-is-awesome way, when I take the day to go sledding or an afternoon to hit the pool instead of crank away at my computer. Life is good when you can spend it teaching, loving and admiring it through your child.

Yes, I'm in St. Charles actually. We hit the "slopes" of our neighbor's back yard. I may have actually gone down more times that my three-year-old, but who's counting? On the guilt issue, honestly it took me about six months after my first baby to chill the guilt of working when I thought I should be playing or playing when I thought I should be working. After a year, I was able to get things smoothed out. I have the "I'm in a meeting" approach now where I've realized that a meeting with my kids is just as (and often more so) important than any other meeting. As long as the work gets done, PLAY, I say!

Not only do I not think you're lazy, I'd admire you. I'm the first to admit that while I love my child more than anything, we are both happier when I work, he goes to school, and we spend plenty of time with other people. He's a carbon-copy of me, and as a single mom, we spend a lot of alone time together, and much of that time is spent butting heads. Frankly, I don't know that I could do what you do!

So sure, be happy and feel like the luckiest man on earth because you get to do what you want, but by no means feel lazy. Know that many of us think your job is super hard! Haha.