IT'S A MATERIAL WORLD

We have all been there as kids. You were at a birthday party, baseball game or some social function when your Dad or Mom showed up. As they were walking toward you and your friends you became mortified at the clothes they were wearing. Maybe it was Mom showing up in her non-designer blue jeans and multi-colored shirt that could have been someone else's curtains. Or your Dad sporting short shorts for men, white tube socks pulled up and the white logo-free sneakers (or worse yet Velcro white sneakers). You try your hardest to not hear them calling you in fear that your friends might have seen them!

Let’s face it, everyone thought their parents’ fashion sense was horrific and could be embarrassing at times. It wasn’t just fashion either; it could have been the used Cutlass sitting in the driveway with rust around the rims, buying Hydrox instead of Oreos, or trying to convince us that video games would wear out the color in the television so that’s why we shouldn’t buy one (my dad used that one on me).

So as I began preparing to start a family of my own the one thing I promised myself was that I would not repeat the errors of my own parents. Whatever it took, I would not wear anything but Nike sneaks, ‘Tommy’ shorts or shirts, and I would always still have the best that I could afford. Then reality hit….

My first son arrived, then my second son and now my daughter. Whether you have three children or just one the time comes when you have to start making choices. I could buy my new lawnmower or use that to pay for the summer pool membership. I could buy the Underarmor golf shirt or go to Target and buy one for half the price and use those savings to buy my kid new pants and shoes. The examples are endless and you will get to the point some day when you realize why your parents looked like they did and lived the way they did; it’s called love! We love our kids so much that we will give up anything to make their life better and give them more than we had.

So when I look back and still see my dad in his not so cool Kmart sneakers or Members Only jacket from 1980, I am filled with pride because I know that I was loved. I hope that one day my kids say "Thanks Mom and Dad for not being so “cool.”

Sincerely,
From the Guests' Stork Nest~
Daddy-O