They told you this was going to be expensive. They tried to warn you. But then—especially if you live in America—you got that first bill from the doctor. And then you began to understand…
It’s not cheap to have kids. It never has been. The sooner you accept this the better.
People who live in New York City understand that it’s an expensive city. It costs what it costs. If they wanted cheap, they picked the wrong city. The same goes for parenting. Being a “DINK” (dual income, no kids) was an option. We did not choose that option.
We should remember this when we’re at the grocery store buying berries we know will be devoured in less than three minutes. When we’re grabbing them a nice shirt they’re going to immediately stain, when we’re looking at schooling options, when we need to buy new soccer cleats or backpacks because they somehow lost their old ones. If we wanted things to be cheap and simple, well, we chose the wrong life.
It costs what it costs. There’s no use in complaining. No use in fantasizing otherwise. No use in stressing. All that is energy better spent on figuring it out. On trying to earn what we need to earn, on eliminating inefficiencies, on investing for the future.
Because sure, we’ve paid a high price for these kids, but as we’ve mentioned before, what we get in return—peace, freedom, love—is priceless. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that.
