Parenting and My Lifesavers

Like most parents in Hilo, my children are involved in a few activities. I love that my children are involved in these activities that help them grow as individuals as well as give them an opportunity to give back to our Hilo community.

Some things my children do:

club and high school soccer
high school and middle school cross country
Boy Scouts
4-H
Key Club/Builders Club
high school track
high school and middle school band
occasional tennis lessons

In addition to the kid activities, my husband and I have our own obligations. I have a full-time job, my husband has two jobs, and we also try to do as much as we can to support our community.

As long as my husband and I are both around and available, we can implement man-on-man defense and take care of everything and everyone in the family. I have friends who have more than two children. I have friends who are single parents. I have friends whose children are involved in even more activities than mine are. I have friends who do so much more for the community than we do. No matter what our situation, we all have our own systems to survive the daily responsibilities of parenting minors.

Parenting can be overwhelming–whether it is because one parent is busy or even out of town, whether it is because the schedule doesn’t work well (soccer game in Kona for one child and cross country meet in Hilo for another child), or because work is overwhelming, or because I’m just plain tired. I’m not always able to do everything I want.

Here are some of my lifesavers.

KTA and Sack ‘N Save–Conveniently-located stores with things I can pick up for an easy dinner when I didn’t prepare food in advance. Rather than go out to eat, we can have a quick, yummy dinner by picking up one or more of the following–poke, lau lau, or fried chicken. As long as I have rice and some vegetables at home, I’m all set. What are some of your choices for a quick and easy dinner from our local grocery stores?
Cafe 100 — Again, conveniently located. They have affordable meals in generous portions. My husband doesn’t cook very often. If I am not around to prepare dinner, my family invariably eats food from Cafe 100. Double cutlet loco, keiki bento, regular bento are what my family orders. The daily specials are worth looking at–Monday special-Braised beef, Tuesday special–Dinner in a Dish, Thursday special–Oxtail Soup.
Living in the middle of Hilo. It is easy to get from one spot to another. Everything is either on the way or not that much out of the way.
Friends and neighbors to help with kids. I have friends and neighbors who help me with kid transport when I need it. It is wonderful to live in a town where the children are in similar activities and live nearby. We even help each other even when it isn’t needed but just is convenient.
Friends to help keep me sane. I love my support system who serve as a great sounding board and who keep me sane.
An occasional glass of wine. Sometimes the glass of wine goes together with the mental-health support from my friends.