Oh "ME" Oh my!

I have a friend--let's call her "Tammy Faye--who, after recently complaining of needing a vacation, and my telling her to take one and leave the kids at daycare, asked, "What would I do without the kids?"

crickets.......

What would ya do, you ask? Why any or all of the following:
- clean your house (when I said this, she just laughed...)
- take a nap (because she has sleep problems and doesn't get enough normally)
- vege on the couch
- anything NOT related to chasing after children

In the end, she decided NOT to take my advice, which baffles me because I take this opportunity as often as possible. In fact, I generally try to hold onto at least 3 days of "me" vacation each year. What happens on "me" vacation days? Oh, all kinds of things, like:
- have a long workout, as opposed to a fast one
- go play some golf, or at the very least, hit some balls at the driving range
- clean the house and/or catch up on some home maintenance stuff I've neglected

...the choices are endless. I just don't get these parents who have children and lose their own identity. Just because I have kids doesn't mean I forgot to have fun. I think a lot of parents feel that having children means they have to give up every part of thier life that doesn't included the children, when in fact, I believe the opposite is true. You must keep that part of your life that makes you happy; because if you're not happy, you won't be a good parent.

That said, I'm getting up tomorrow...I'll help my wife get the kids off to daycare...then I'm playing golf here. And I feel like it after playing golf and drinking a few beers in the 92 degree Georgia sun, I'll go to the gym.

I'm gonna have fun--sans kids--and I'm not gonna feel guilty about it.