I can relate to this family. When I was a little, my dad worked as a seaman (until today, im now 28) while my mom took the responsibility of both mom and dad. It was a tough task for mom but she has no choice. My dad would stay with us for “vacation” for 2 months every year and the remaining 10 months he would be in luxury ship working as cook.

And you’re right, no amount of money can replace the amount of time lost with our father. Thats why I’m blogging now to make more money, making sure that history will never repeat itself.

Very dramatic post sir.

Sam of Philippines

My dad was a workaholic. His financial choices were not conducive to creating the best family. Fortunately my mom had her values and priorities in alignment with our family’s needs. In the end I learned important things from both parents.

I created a Baby Step exercise I’ve named “Identify Your Spending Values” ( http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/07/take-inventory-identify-your-spending.html ) that I find very helpful in this regard. Identifying, prioritizing and living according to our personal values is key to our well-being and happiness.

Thanks for sharing this illustrative story.
~Millionaire Mommy Next Door

The tragedy is that parents like these, parents who are awesome, are in such a horrible situation where their mother doesn’t get to sleep because she’d rather watch them than sleep (a good thing, but not sleeping is absolutely awful for you)and is now in pretty bad physical condition. Their dad is never there for them even though he desperately loves them, I’m sure.

And then there are those parents who could be there for their children, easily and without effort, that simply don’t bother.

I think that your health is so important; you have to be careful what you do in order not to ruin it.

Your friend’s condition and her sleep problems are not to be envied, for sure, but at least she’s lucky to have relatives to help, a lot of people don’t have that (we don’t have any near enough to help out).

So while there’s a lot to be sad about in that story, I also think it’s a good story about a strong family where the parents are sacrificing to provide a good home for their kids. It’s admirable that they are avoiding the temptation to run up their debt.

The tragedy is probably that the husband is having tours extended at random, which as far as I can tell is going to keep happening for many years. Unless the war ends some day, the real risk your friends will face is not the temptation to incur debt or troubles with child care, but that their father will be killed in action, depriving his kids of a dad. Whatever you think of the war, that’s the true (potential) tragedy. I really hope that he stays safe for their sake, and his.

Best regards! Sully