In A Family Way

No, I'm not preggers (breathe now, Captain). But thinking a lot about if I'm ready for a family. How far in advance should I think about this? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am spending the next 4 days with my favorite kids in the world. I've been taking care of both of them by myself the past two nights, and I'm grateful I will have help over the weekend. But it's led me to think about how hard single mothers have to work to make ends meet, and how can you ever feel financially stable when you are the sole parent of a family? I don't have much experience with that - split families. Growing up, I had both of my parents supporting me and still do. And most of my friends lived the same lifestyle. I definitely don't think there is any shame in raising a family by yourself, but thinking about it has made me realize that I want to be financially prepared for such. The more I learn about how much it costs to raise a child for 18 years, the more I understand why my parents only had me (that, and the fact that I was perfect, hehe).

Obviously, there are certain qualities I want to have before I consider starting a family. I feel like I have the motherly instinct thing down pat. But everything else, I'm not so sure. Definitely, marriage is a good requirement. I'm not interested in going at it alone, but I also don't want to FEEL like I have to rely on anyone else (although I do prefer someone who wants to take care of me).

So these recollections lead me to believe that I need to be financially stable before I consider parenthood. I'm starting to get the hang of this - being a grown up - paying bills on time, fully thinking through my purchases (still working with that one), having a retirement plan, building up an emergency fund. Granted, I still have a long way to go. But if someone had told me three months ago that I would be blogging about how I'm paying off my debt, I would have thought they were crazy. But it suits me now. I like to work hard, and feel like I am getting something out of my efforts. It's finally started to feel really good to pay off my debt - which is ABSOLUTELY HUGE for me!