Happy Mother's Day

Rachel is a wonderful mom and it is confirmed every time I see our children with her. Just look in their eyes and you will see a peace and happiness because their needs are met in every way by her. They smile and laugh with her. They seek her comfort when they are sad or hurt. She is there for them in every way and she is a wonderful teacher and mentor.

Rachel, I can't thank you enough for having the desire to be at home with our children. Because you have so thoroughly invested in them these pre-school years, I have so much peace that they have been raised properly. I can't imagine any greater gift you have given them (and me) by being in their lives, everyday, all day. Thank you.

Noticed this report by Salary.com that estimated what a stay-at-home mom would make as an annual salary. It is based on a 100-hour work week, consisting of six 15-hour days and one 10-hour day. Job titles, responsibilities, and qualifications were considered and weighed on a scale of importance, frequency, and average time spent on tasks per day. Stay-at-home mom median salary assumes that the mother has at least two children of school age. Though I think the amount is grossly understated, thought it was interesting:

Job Title - Avg Annual Salary
Teacher / Daycare Center - $26,891

Van Driver - $30,762

Housekeeper - $18,750

Cook - $31,099

CEO - $612,623

Nurse - $56,113

General Maintenance Worker - $29,656

Base Pay (40 Hours) - $43, 461

Overtime Pay (60 Hours) - $88,009

Mom's Annual Salary - $131,471

Being a part of every moment and memory of your child's life: PRICELESS

Two Steppin'

This past Saturday Rachel and I had a date night and went country dancing with Stephen and Melissa and our neighbors/friends Aaron and Tracy. We had a great time together. I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of groups that go out to a club / dance hall on a weekend night.

There is your first group that is there from about 9pm til midnight. There are a few sparse individuals who have been lingering around since about 8pm because that was when it was free cover and they want to make sure and make the most of their evening at the bar. However, most of the crowd consists of married couples who are on a date night without their children. The evidence of this is that each of the couples is either sitting or standing with their arms around each other enjoying a moment of interacting with other human beings of adulthood. The other evidence is that the dance floor is relatively empty because they have all forgotten how to dance since the last time they were able to go out 6 months ago. Rachel and I like this because it gives us plenty of space to dance without worrying about banging into others.

The second group of people shows up around 11pm and stays until close of business. This is clearly the single folks looking for that great opportunity of meeting the love of their life (or the next 6 weeks or unfortunately, for only that evening). This group provides great entertainment for the married with kids group for that hour between 11pm and midnight in which both groups collide. This group does not sit or stand around. They are in constant motion around the club in an effort to make sure they have been seen and thoroughly scope out all of their surroundings. The dance floor is packed and all kinds of "talent" are being showcased. While this group is just getting started and wondering how much cash they will spend on the evening, the other group is beginning to yawn and wonder how much to pay the babysitter.

I would classify myself as a people watcher and there is usually at least one thing that happens that leaves me asking "What were they thinking?" On this night it was some guy, obviously single, who decided to get up on one of those tall dance boxes and showoff all the great dance moves he had in his repotoire. I can only assume by the lack of women surrounding him that he was not being successful and needed to reconsider.

We all had a great time out. I had a great time dancing with Rachel and hanging out with our friends. Sure, there once was a time when I was probably classified into that second group of people and a fun time consisted of a late night "closing the place down". What's great now is that "closing a place down" consists of getting home and quietly going in to each one of my children's rooms and kissing them goodnight as they peacefully sleep and knowing that I am with the love of my life and we just had a great night out on the town.