The Kassel Family Project Life 365

We have one excited boy in our household today.  He earned his very first Book It!  He is so proud of himself and can’t wait to go to Pizza Hut to get his free personal pizza!

I.  AM.  DONE.  I will no longer waste my time justifying to anyone why I chose to work after I had kids.  DONE.  COMPLETELY.  OVER.

Perhaps, I should start at the beginning…  Today, while picking up a few things at the grocery store, I ran into someone that I used to work with back in the day when I was a secretary (translation – 17 years ago).  I had a difficult time working with this person and it was a happy day when I switched jobs and no longer had to see her on a daily basis.  I have done a pretty good job of avoidance over the years should I happen to see her out and about because, let’s face it, Columbia isn’t that big.  Today, I could not avoid her as I came around the corner into an aisle and she was right there and looking right at me.  OK, well, here we go…

Conversation goes like this:

• Her:  Erica!  How are you?  I haven’t seen you in forever!
• Me:  I’m doing pretty good and you?
• Her:  I’m great.  Life is good.
• Me:  That’s good to hear.
• Her:  I heard you had kids finally.  I figured you would come around eventually because everyone wants kids.  They are just so fun!
• Me:  Yes, Andy and I had two.  Our daughter is 7 and our son is 5.
• Her:  Well that’s fantastic!  Wait, did you say they are 7 and 5?
• Me:  Yes, I did.
• Her:  And you are still working?  You didn’t stay home?  (Note:  When I worked with her, her kids were the same age as mine are NOW and she was WORKING.)
• Me:  Yep, I am.  I have always worked.
• Her:  Oh.  I’m sorry to hear that.
• Me:  Sorry?  You worked.
• Her:  Well, I always felt guilty though because your children deserve better than a Mom working.
• Me:  I…  You know, I really need to finish up my shopping.  It was nice to see you.  (I walk away.)

I walked away because it occurred to me that I don’t owe this woman a justification.  So, yeah.  Enough already.  I am no longer justifying my choice of working to anyone.  You don’t like it?  Tough.  I’m not interested.  We make choices and, whatever that is, you should respect it.  LEAVE.  IT.  ALONE.  Your “helpful” comments are, in fact, NOT helpful at all.  You just pissed me off, and made me feel like a pile of shit for doing what I needed to do.  It’s none of your business.  There will be no justification from me to anyone.  ANYMORE.  /endrant

…at the Halloween party, stays at the Halloween party!  It’s my new, favorite Halloween decoration!

Today was a big day for Laura as she got her ears pierced!  She spent the last couple of weeks trying to decide if she wanted to get it done and she finally decided this week that she was ready.  I took her to Icing at the Columbia Mall to have it done.  She was amazing and so fascinated by it all.

She seemed a little nervous because she was talking really fast, but she did great!  She didn’t cry and only said that it hurt a little.  She is very proud of her new rose-colored daisy earrings.  If you see her, ask her to show them off!

We spent the evening at the annual Van Hove Family Bonfire and Hayride.  We got to eat great food, enjoy a bonfire, and take the kids on hayrides.  It was a great evening and the weather was perfect – not too hot and not too cold.  We spent time catching up with great friends and just enjoying the evening.  We finally left about 11:30 pm because both kids were tired.  You know it is time for the evening to end when *LAURA* actually asks to go home.  Andy and I both said that we will not be making it to the early church service tomorrow, but the night was so worth it!

To raise money to go to Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, the eighth grade confirmation class had a Parents’ Night Out fundraiser.  For a free-will offering, we dropped the kids off at church right about 6 pm and headed out to a fabulous dinner at Mackenzie’s Prime.  We sat on their patio in the beautiful weather and enjoyed amazing food, wine, and conversation.  It was a wonderful, leisurely dinner and Andy and I enjoyed the time out very much.  (In case you were wondering, the kids had a blast at the church too.)  Another Parents’ Night Out is coming up in December and I’m pretty sure we will take advantage of the opportunity again!