[speaker001:] kids too?
[speaker002:] Yeah [LAUGHTER]..
[speaker001:] Oh, you laugh. How many, what ages? [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Well, twenty-seven up.
[speaker001:] Uh.
[speaker002:] And we had five.
[speaker001:] You've been through the fun part [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] And how about yourself?
[speaker001:] I have a four and a half and a three.
[speaker002:] Oh. well.
[speaker001:] So. It's, I, I'm sure there's a lot of differences in the way, in the way it's done now and then.
[speaker002:] Yeah. Well, when mine were growing up, I did some traveling and but not that extensively but I always just made it a point, you know, to spend about ten minutes with each one of them.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] So it was an hour, you know.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] But whether it was going back and laying in bed with them and just shooting the breeze or whatever, telling them stories or reading to them.
[speaker001:] What was the age difference between the youngest and the oldest?
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Six years.
[speaker001:] So they were all real close?
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] That's tough. That's a lot of time.
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah. We look back and wonder how we did it.
[speaker001:] Did you both work? Your wife too?
[speaker002:] No, she never did.
[speaker001:] Uh, well, qualify that.
[speaker002:] .
[speaker001:] She worked at home, I'm sure [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Well, yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] But that's, uh, well both my husband and I work and sometimes I feel like, you know, by the time I pick them up and get them home and get them fed, I have very little time each evening.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Maybe thirty minutes max.
[speaker002:] Well that's plenty though.
[speaker001:] And well he spends a lot of time with them while I'm cooking and then I spend time with them while, you know, he's doing other stuff. And, and, of course, we try to spend a lot of time on the weekend. You know, there's a lot of times my house may not be as clean as I particularly like it but it's neat, it's straight and I can live with it because
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I do stuff with my kids, you know.
[speaker002:] Right. Well, you know, with kids you're not going to have a neat house.
[speaker001:] Well, I've accepted that too [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] And, you know
[speaker001:] That's true.
[speaker002:] it, it's tough to find time.
[speaker001:] It is.
[speaker002:] E-, espec-, especially with both of them working.
[speaker001:] Yeah. That's true.
[speaker002:] And you just have to set the time and say, okay this is going to be it.
[speaker001:] Well, that's true and, and we do a lot of that on the weekends, you know. We try to spend Saturdays together.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] If my husband golfs, you know, he'll do it during nap time, things like that where they're not really missing the presence, you know.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] And, and we do a lot of family things together. We're, we're kind of going the other direction this weekend. We're planning a trip, just he and I. This is the first time we've gone anywhere without the kids
[speaker002:] Well that's good too.
[speaker001:] since she was born four and a half years ago.
[speaker002:] Yeah, that's good that way too [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Well, I decided that, you know, you need that once in awhile. That you, you need to plan the quality time and, and I do think that if you plan it and spend that and make it quality time you don't have to be there twenty-four hours a day.
[speaker002:] Yeah. Well, that, they say it, it, all it takes is about five, ten minutes a day.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And, you know, and as the kids got older I made them, you know, help me cut the grass and
[speaker001:] Sure.
[speaker002:] kind of made that a project too.
[speaker001:] Sure.
[speaker002:] Or whatever and,
[speaker001:] And they think that's a family activity, you know.
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker001:] Yeah. That's great fun [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] And, uh, well, yeah, if,
[speaker001:] My daughter's like, Mommy can I help you with the laundry? Of course, you can [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Yeah. Just keep them talking that way.
[speaker001:] Absolutely. Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] But, uh, another thing we used to do is have ham-, family councils.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Every Sunday night.
[speaker001:] And what would you do, what?
[speaker002:] [Cough] Discuss everything that didn't agree with them. And we'd take turns being president.
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] And everyone would get one vote. And I always thought we'd get outvoted five to two
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] but it never worked that way.
[speaker001:] So they would just pick whatever issue kind of was at a
[speaker002:] Yeah. Well and we could bring up
[speaker001:] head that week and then,
[speaker002:] and we could bring up stuff too.
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] And that was always good time. Boy, we really got to know the kids well.
[speaker001:] I imagine. And I imagine you still have a very close relationship with them.
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah. In
[speaker001:] I,
[speaker002:] fact, they were all in, uh, over the weekend for Easter.
[speaker001:] Oh, that's wonderful. See I was raised in that type of family where, you know, you don't disobey me, you mind me but if you have a problem with what we did or how we did it, you can always come back and talk to me about it.
[speaker002:] Well, we did too.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And I remember the one daughter saying, we had a, a friend of hers that used to drive us up a tree
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and she said, hey I don't make fun [mispronounced], fun of your friends so why make fun of mine?
[speaker001:] Uh well.
[speaker002:] Kind of r-, kind of hit us between the eyes.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah. You don't think of it that way do you [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] No. But that, that was always good quality time for us.
[speaker001:] Now that's good. I like
[speaker002:] And then
[speaker001:] that idea.
[speaker002:] never attend, but if, if they missed it, they had to abide by the rules.
[speaker001:] Whatever was voted on, huh.
[speaker002:] Yeah and boy, they, they'd show up.
[speaker001:] Well I think that's great.
[speaker002:] And we'd usually take notes
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] and, you know, the younger kids, uh, or maybe all of them needed help at one time or another.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And, uh, but they were usually tougher on themselves than they were on us. And they loved it.
[speaker001:] I, I think that's true. I can remember times my parents would say well what do you think would be a fair punishment.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] And we would always come up with something that was harder than what they would have done
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] you know. So I do think it's right that they're harder on themselves, you know.
[speaker002:] Yeah. But, uh, boy, I, I feel for you and your husband.
[speaker001:] Oh, why is that?
[speaker002:] Well, my, my, uh, two of my, uh,