My children don't care...

My children don't care that we don't have a 70 inch flat screen tv.  All they care about is that I sit down and snuggle them while we watch a My Little Pony episode on our 27 inch boxy 10 year old tv.

My children don't care that we don't have smartphones.  All they care about is that Mommy can take a picture of them being silly with her basic phone and text it to Daddy. 

My children don't care that they have hand-me-down clothes or clothes from garage sales.  All they care about is that their skirt flares out as they twirl around the living room, imagining they are princesses.

My children don't care that we drive a 9 year old minivan.  All they care about is that I buckle them in safely and that I play I Spy with them as we run errands together.

My children don't care that we don't have a Dyson vacuum.  All they care about is that they get to take turns practicing running our funny sounding Bissell vacuum that a friend gave to us that they were going throw away because they didn't need it anymore, but it still does the job ok. 

My children don't care that we don't have a MacBook Pro.  All they care about is that we can watch a hilarious-to-them video of a cat jumping in and out a box on youtube on our $300 HP laptop that we bought on Black Friday 3 and a half years ago. 

My children don't care that we don't have an iPad.  All they care about is jumping for joy for the few and far between times that I let them play games on our 3 and a half year old iTouch that was Daddy's chiropractic graduation present. 

My children don't care that they haven't been to Disneyland yet. All they care about is that they can bring a seashell or two home from our local beach after they play in the sand for hours.

My children don't care that we don't have a gigantic bookshelf full of children's books just for them, but they do have a sufficient amount of books.  All they care about is that we make it to the library often to check out new books and that we read them all 800 times before we take them back.

My children don't care that we don't have extra plush hypoallergenic couches.  All they care about is that I watch them do flips and tricks and jump off of our 11 year old scuffed leather couches. 

My children don't care that they aren't taking piano, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, and dance simultaneously.  All they care about is that I take them to a splash pad, let them run and kick a big bouncy ball on the local baseball field, take them to go jump on their grandma's trampoline and pound on her piano keys, and have spontaneous dance parties with them in our living rom.

My children don't care that we don't have an Xbox with 50 different games.  All they care about it that I let them play Super Mario Brothers a few times per year when we set up our NES and also play Wii Sports, both systems that were given to us years ago. 

My children don't care that we don't own our own home.  All they care about it that I let them hang their pasted, taped, and glittery artwork on their whitewashed bedroom walls in our home that we're renting. 

My children don't care that they can't buy a toy every time we go to the store.  All they care about is that we let them pick a toy to carry and walk around with while we shop, and then they know that they have to put it down before we get to checkout and they do just fine with that.

My children don't care that we don't eat strictly organic.  All they care about is that they are fed when they are hungry, that they have a sufficient amount of fruit and yogurt and chicken and pasta in the house. 

My children don't care that they have to go to church for 3 hours every Sunday morning.  All they care about is that they get to see their little friends there and also learn the basics about sharing, praying, singing, the scriptures, and learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus. 

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I have never ever once heard my children give a genuine complaint for not having anything listed above.  An occasional whine about them wanting a candy bar or wanting to buy a toy at a garage sale? Sure.  But of the more expensive things in life?  No.  They.Don't.Care.

So why do I write this?  I write it as a reminder to myself, a reminder that it's ok to have simple inexpensive things. And I have absolutely NO PROBLEM AT ALL if other people have/do/have done any of the above, that's perfectly fine and everyone is entitled to spend their money how they choose.  No judgment passed whatsoever.  If you can genuinely afford it, go for it, you've worked hard for your money. 

Of course I occasionally covet nicer amenities, gadgets, vehicles, and vacations, but this is a season in our lives where we have chosen to not have most of these things.  Could we indulge in any of the above listed?  Sure, we definitely could.  But we have made a conscious decision to wait and to live simpler, to make what we have last as long as we can.  We have a Mt. Everest of student loans we are trying to pay down (they'll be paid off in abouuuuut 99 years) and we choose to put most of our extra money towards easing our financial future.  It's hard though, so very hard sometimes.  But we figure we will sacrifice now while our children are younger, while they still see the world as their playground and tangible things hold little value for them. 

My children want for nothing.  They have everything they need and they have a lot of what they want.

My children will choose me over anything else.  If we were to go out and buy a $500 Barbie Dreamhouse and 2 minutes after we got home and set it up I offered to go play outside in the dirt with them, 3 seconds later they would be outside up to their elbows in dirt, laughing and smiling with me.  They don't want stuff, they want me.  

Very very few of my childhood memories involve tangible items.  They involve people and experiences.  They involve road trips.  They involve church activities.  They involve joking around with my parents and my siblings.  They involve playing with friends. 

So during those times where I am debating whether or not to make a purchase that I think will bring my children happiness (I hardly doubt they will care if we get new couches or a flatsceen tv), I have to sit back and think "Am I buying it for them or am I buying it for me?".  And of course we occasionally splurge because I think it is human nature to have the intense need to indulge a little more than we should.  We've gone on vacations.  We've spent too much on unnecessary purchases.  We're trying to reign in our micro spending, $20 here and $10 there, it adds up and it adds up quickly.

One day I will have all of the above.  We'll have the nice flatscreen tv, we'll have the smartphones, we'll have the home, we'll have the Dyson, but right now is not the time for us, we need to spend our money elsewhere, we need to pay down our debt and I need to create memories with my children

And now you know why my children don't care.