Today went by as a pretty boring day.  My hubby and I were alone most of the day, as our kids stayed up all night and slept most of the day.  My mother was in and out and around, being noisy as she always is, jabbering on about nothing, always needing to be the center of attention.  It was annoying.  But that was it.  Last night we traded small gifts with each other.  I was very happy our boys loved what we got them.  And that my mother was happy with her stuff, too.  I mean, she never acts super happy about her gifts anymore, but who cares.  

Then, my kids made a huge decision to sell something of theirs to help our family pay off some debt that we desperately need to do in order to buy a new house in the next year.  They don't have to do it, but they want to, which I think is very adult of them.  They know the stakes.  They know what our plan is for the new year.  And they want to help, which is hard for them.  So I am very proud of them right now.  Even if they don't follow through, which they may not.  But I hope they do.  Because it will teach them a very valuable lesson in life.  And it will help them transition from childhood to adulthood a little more.  

There are steps we all take to become less dependent on our parents.  Some of us have always done it.  And some take little steps.  And some don't take any at all (and some can't).  My kids take little steps.  And that works for us.  But if they follow through with this, it will be a very good thing for everyone involved.  

Also, my husband finally found "the thing".  I've been searching for "the thing" for years, something we can all do to make money as a family, a business of sorts.  And my husband finally found it.  Granted, it may be just "a thing" and not "the thing", but I think that's who we are as people.  We need many "things", not just one.  But this is a great thing that we can all do together.  We've been researching and making plans and soon we'll be calling around to get quotes, etc. to get it rolling.  We're going to start a gaming convention in our town.  Right now, just twice a year, but if it works out and eventually gets bigger, then we'll do it every quarter.  I already know how putting on a show like this works, as I used to help my uncle do his every single year for over ten years.  And our kids know how these types of conventions work as they are in the world of gaming.  And I have experience with other things related to this as I used to run a non-profit for a couple years.  And my hubby is amazing DM/GM (game master) and can run some of the games himself, which I think people will line up for (as online he used run games and people would write to him about how much they love watching his games as he's so good at it).  So, I think this is "the thing" for us.  And, my store?  Caters to people who would go to things like this.  So I can set up a vending table for my own store at our events.  

Maybe nothing will come of us.  Or maybe, it will be "the thing".  Wouldn't it be funny if my hubby is going to college right now for his work and ends up not even needing to use his degree?  LOL  Oops.  Oh well, at least he will have that fall back on.  

Okay, it's nice to write a post that's not all about how much my mother annoys me.  And at least I can write about a holiday where my mother didn't act up and try to hurt anyone this time.  Well, not physically at least.