Andy Holly Clarke

thanks cat for all the good ideas

i do have a couple of memberships and one that i need to renew when i can.

it does really help to think of the donut. especially since that is often how i try to look at "dieting". i would rather pay more per ounce (or whatever) for a smaller portion so that i don't consume the extra calories.

any suggestions for travelling? or just chalk up the spent money as learning whether or not we liked that new experience.

i am really trying to just enjoy being more adventurous. i guess i just need to give myself time

also, we do just go to the cheap theater now. or try to rent the movie.
renting is what works best so far, though even with that sometimes it will take a couple of times renting a movie before my kids decide they want to see it all the way through.

holly

Message: 10
Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 09:29:50 -0400
From: "catherine aceto" <aceto3@...>
Subject: Re: planning ; more practically than spirituality

Holly writes: i find i get really stressed out about taking the kids somewhere that you have to pay to go (movies, museums, etc.) and then because they are tired or decide that they aren't having fun - they want to leave 5min after arriving.

Me:
Can you get memberships? Maybe as gifts from family? Maybe the organization has sliding fees (some institutions do this even though they don't really advertise it). Perhaps get memberships to one or two in your area and then go primarily to them.

We have memberships to the local museums and go to the local cheap theater ($1/person). We do it precisely because it is then so easy to move on to something else if no one is having fun and you don't feel like you just blew $30 on the 15 minutes that you have been there.

But without a membership, then I think it's like the donut example - better in the trash than eaten unwanted. Cheerfully move on from the experience, or the $30 (already spent) will have been spent to make children's lives worse instead of better. Which isn't to say that I would always, without fail, be able to do that -- but it is my goal, and thinking of it like the donuts helps.

Also the museums around here often have a free day a week or free week once a year. Or go with a local group at group rates.

-Cat



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