Eliminating Debt

It is really easy these days for people to get into financial difficulty because of debt. This is often the topic on talk shows and in magazine articles and books. We know, as a culture, what it is to be in debt financially.

But there are other kinds of equally destructive debt that we accumulate in other areas of life. Life debt is much less recognizable in a success-driven world, but it is as prevalent as financial debt.

As the parent of a soon-to-be three year old, I am constantly testing myself to make sure that I am spending adequate time with my child and giving my child an adequate amount of attention. I don't just do this because B is a preacher's kid and I don't want B to be maladjusted =)...but I do it because I know how easy it is to think I must first get this thing done, or attend to that thing...and before you know it I have missed out on opportunities to spend quality time with my child.

The book, Parent Trek: Nurturing Creativity and Care in our Children, quotes Arlie Hochschild, a professor at the University of California as stating "that time with children cannot be borrowed: 'Often parents...unwittingly create little debt collectors in their children. In exchange for not being available,...they will trade time on an upcoming Saturday for lack of time now. Thus, the family copes with Monday through Friday with the promise of Saturday. The children collect not bills, but love, payable at a later date.'"

Ouch! I really want to try not to do that. And hopefully we can all have the sense of mind to not put off the things that are truly important to us. There will always be work to do, tasks to accomplish, stuff to get done...but time with loved ones cannot be borrowed back once it is spent.

So make the time today to hug your children, converse with your spouse, call your mom or email a friend.

Journey on...