The reason we traded in our 9 to 5 life, to go traveling and be with our kid's is simple, FAMILY.
Family is all that matters to us, not money, not a career, and definitely not a big house with even BIGGER bills,
we tried all that, and quickly realized that it was tearing the family apart.
The bills, the garden, the job, the T.V, the bills, the annoying curtain twitching neighbors,
the car's, the bills, the cleaning,
the school run, the shopping, the bills, the separate rooms separating us, the anxiety, the stress and last of all the bills.
Its a recipe for disaster, and there is absolutely no time left over for THE FAMILY, yet we convince our selfs that we are doing it all for the family. How on Earth did we get it so wrong, our poor kids take a back seat, waiting and hoping that they get to spend an hour with there Mum and Dad before it's bed time.
I heard a story once which made me cry, and I'm a truck driver with a beard, who grew up homeless on the streets, men like me don't cry over nothing.
It went like this:
A father comes home from work, tired and a little irritated.
He opens the door and there is his son waiting for him.
SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?"
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make £10 an hour."
SON: "Oh! (With his head down).
SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow £5?"
The father was furious.
DAD: "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy some silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for this family.
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that £5 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
DAD: "Are you asleep, son?"
SON: "No daddy, I'm awake".
DAD: "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the £5 you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
SON: "Oh, thank you daddy!"
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up notes. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
DAD: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?"
SON: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do.
"Daddy, I have £10 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. The End.
I'll give you a minute to compose yourself.
I'm not sure if this story is the reason we sold it all and never looked back, but shortly after we heard this, we hit the road in search of a better life for our family.
I heard an interview that someone did at an old peoples home. They asked about 30 of the patients who where all nearing the pearly gates, if they had any regrets in life. Most of them said they wished they had spent much more time with there kids when they was young, and that they wished they had not worked so much.
When did we decide to trade family life for a career, community living for money, and Love for a Range Rover.
I'm not preaching, and I'm not saying that you can't have a house a job and a family life.
I'm just saying we should all put our families first, because nothing else really matters.
And if you spend more time with your kids when they really need you, then maybe they wont put you in an old peoples home, and they might just look after you, when you really need them.
Peace and love to the World.
Can't help but to follow you after reading this post.
Well then i'll just have to follow u right back then :) glad you liked it
Thank you for making me think about life ...
You are welcome, if you have time please read my post about being homeless. i think u will enjoy it :)
Great story.
It's all about how you look at life. I've known just as many people who regretted never building anything of value at the end of their life. Ultimately, you can either have regrets or you can choose to see what you've done as valuable. That will be a conscious choice though.
So true, thanks for your comment and if you liked this post then check out my rags to riches life story about being homeless.
WoW... Beautiful story and Beautiful Family... You are wealthy beyond measure.
Hopefully You will do well here to supplement your current income.
Up Voted and Followed... please consider following me. Thank You
IF You Follow me, I'll Follow You...
Thank you, your very kind. Like u said weathy beyond measure. Maybe you would like my last big post, my rags to riches life story.
And i always follow my followers.
You're most welcomed... Will look for the other post...
Have a Great Weekend Mark !!
IF You Follow me, I'll Follow You...
@markwhittam beautiful family picture and story. Your young one in the front has such a great expression on her face. I read your earlier post, but forgot to follow you. That's been corrected.
Thank you very much @sighmanjestah
hahaha she refuses to smile on camera, and she is a very very strong minded character.
thanks for the follow, right back at ya!
"very very strong minded" yeah, you can see that, the only thing missing is her arms folded across her. Maybe she hasn't learned that one yet.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Your opinion really matters to me.
glad you liked it.
And yours matters to me. Check out my tour if you have time. Love what you are doing with your blog. You're such an inspiration.
Heartfelt and 'real', a great post!
Leadership by example :-)
Following
Thanks @bilbop consider yourself followed, just for the simple fact you got a killer beard.
Oh and if you liked this post check out my last big one about being homeless at 15.
Thanks.
You're welcome. Thank you for liking my killer beard.
I will surely checkout your homeless at 15 post.
The "tell-a-vision" does a good job of programming people what to think and believe. Having people love small housing is very much the trend for people to accept rather than question the system that creates this.
You got it, in my first ever post "We sold it all and never looked back" i go into detail about how we started by getting rid of the t.v and how much better our life became after this. thanks for the comment.
I completly agree with your view , love an happiness matters a lot in a family.
Yes, you are so right. Family first :)
Lovely man, don't make me cry
Thank you, we all need a little cry sometimes...
Wow! I am intrigued. What a fun adventurous life. I'm subscribed and resteeming.
thank you very much, i appreciate the support and will return the favor
Thanks. Have a great day.
I definitely dont want to spend my old age cleaning a huge house and paying bills ;)
Not my idea of fun.... :)
Definitely not :)
Thanks m8 brought tears to my eyes. Guess somehow we can relate to each other on an emotional way. Quality time is the most value thing one can share with his kids. Happy we are connected trough this Steemit medium. Enjoy your evening pal!
Ooops sorry i seem to have a habit of doing that, don't worry my next post is about our travels in Morocco, pretty sure nothing emotional happened in Morocco. it's funny i never felt a connection with people threw a social media platform, but since being on steemit I'm really really feeling connected to some people. all the best Buddy
Really like to follow your posts emotional or not If connected there is no need for sorry at all! #lifeisforliving
Thank you for your story. Please continue. I'm following.
Your welcome, I'm not finished yet :)
Wow!!! I love this!!! I love reading about people living unconventional lives. Especially in a tiny home. I have a dream about living in a tiny home one day. Following! :)
thank you, it was a dream of ours and now are living the dream. no regrets
Awesome post! Makes me want to hug my two little boys. I work way too much and sometimes disregard the damage I might be doing to my family. That is why I am hoping Steem and other Cryptocurrencies will set my family free of debt, so we can life more freely and make memories more often.
It's never too late, kids are very understanding and patient. Just being aware of the fact u work too much is a step in the right direction.
And yes let's hope crypto's and steemit will set all of us free from the system
That's exactly what it is - a system where government and banks win, the hard-working class pays the cost, and families suffer.
This is sad but true, but there is a way out,
Step by step we have been getting closer and closer to being completely free from the failing system, and the closer we get, the happier we feel. Our first step was to get rid of the TV, the rest was easy after that.
I sure wish we could get rid of the TV. I lived without it for years, quite happily. My wife is addicted to it, so guess what? It is the centerpiece in our living room.