[speaker001:] Okay, yeah, Donna, um, you said you have three children. What, uh, kinds of activities do you spend with them? Is it?
[speaker002:] Okay, um, we have an eleven year old, an eight year old, and a three year old and, um,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] [Sniffing] uh, my husband, let's see, he coaches basketball with Brian, um, so he spends time doing that with him, planning and, um, practicing outside.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Um, he's a real sports kind of person, so he plays tennis with, with the kids. We all kind of play tennis as a family, except the baby
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] plays in the playground. We take turns with her. Um, [lipsmack] uh, let's see, we have a computer and we do a lot of things with the kids on the computer. Um, [lipsmack] uh, let's what else we do. Oh, plus we watch a little T V together. We really don't watch, I think, as much T V as a lot of people.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] We don't have H B O. We do get the Disney channel for the kids.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Uh, my kids have a Nintendo which they play, and my husband sometimes joins them with that.
[speaker001:] [Faint] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Uh, my little girl, Jennifer, likes to do crafty things, and I'll take some time and do that with her. And, of course, we always read a bedtime story at night, and even the, the older kids sometimes sit down and, and will join in and listen to a story. I'm,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] basically the story person because my husband doesn't have, he gets home from work late or whatever and, and usually, once in a while he'll read the story to little one, but that's basically my job [breathing].
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] Um [talking],
[speaker001:] So do you find it difficult to find time, or is it pretty natural?
[speaker002:] It is. It is hard
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] because, you know, at the end of your day you want time for yourself
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] and, and it, and that's kind of cutting into your, your time.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And with the kids getting older, now on the weekends they get to the bed like at ten
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] which really is late, but, you know, on school nights, the two older ones get to bed about nine. They go upstairs at nine, and, um, now, this weekend we'll have a baby-sitter come and, uh, my husband and I will go out to dinner and come home and, um, probably not too late.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Maybe Brian will still be up, and spend some time with him. But [lipsmack] it, it's really hard. You have to be a very unselfish person to, to spend a lot of time with your kids, I think.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah. Do you work during the day?
[speaker002:] Uh, no, I don't work. I, last year, um, I had a little part time job in a private, um, high school, tutoring, um, high school students with learning disabilities.
[speaker001:] [Faint] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] That was two days a week, and even just those two days just seemed like it was a lot. I don't know how, I admire,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] people that, that can do it all, but with three kids and laundry and keeping the house the way
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I want it kept, it is hard.
[speaker001:] I can imagine.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] Even just finding the time to do the grocery shopping and everything.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh [faint].
[speaker002:] And that's another thing, I'll take one of the kids with me grocery shopping, um, usually on the weekend, and that's kind of like a special time for just myself and my little girl or myself and my son, and they'll be my helper, and then they'll get to pick out some of those favorite snacks that they get to pick out so,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I try to do things like that, but it, you know, it's, it's, uh,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And then, of course, they have a pretty, um, busy social calendar too [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] You fit it in with all that, that.
[speaker001:] Yeah. So what do you feel are the current trends in the way families spend time in general, you know, in America?
[speaker002:] I, I think a lot of people, a lot of people s-, set their kids in front of the T V and H B O and rent movies and, and,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] kind of leave them to their own means. Um,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I think, you know, it's very, very easy to fall into that trap, and I'm not, um, [music] totally innocent of that because,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] there's times when you just stay here, watch a tape.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] But, um, um, I think different parts of the country, I think in Plano and maybe this area in Texas, there's a lot of community activities that parents could join in with their kids. People are,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh [faint].
[speaker002:] real sports conscious and really get involved with their kids, sports activities and,
[speaker001:] Oh, that's good.
[speaker002:] You know, but, um,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] [Lipsmack].
[speaker001:] Yeah, well, families are facing a challenge, I know that with,
[speaker002:] What,
[speaker001:] I'm a newlywed and we're
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] you know, thinking about having children sometime in the next couple of years and,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. And it's, it's very hard, because when you get used to two salaries, it's very hard to, to cut back to one.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And, um, um, but, you know, if you have the type of job, I have a friend that's a nurse and she can pick her hours and
[speaker001:] [Faint] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] that's a, a great career. I wish I would have gone [clicking] into, uh, nursing [breathing].
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] because she has such a flexible schedule, but it's very hard to, uh, spend time with the children and, uh, and your husband and
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] do everything at once.
[speaker001:] Yeah. But I do feel like it's important that you make the time for children because,
[speaker002:] Well, I think it's a big, it's a big, um, responsibility. You just don't,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] have children so that you can continue the lifestyle you had when you were single.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] When you have children, you have to say, now, this is different and you do have to give things up. I, I personally feel that it is extremely important to be with your own child, um, for the,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh [faint].
[speaker002:] at least for the first two years of their lives. I mean, if you,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] can possibly swing it because they,