
My eldest son phoned me the other night to let me know that he and his partner was going to have a baby. When I got the news, I was more excited then he was. He seems to be in a state of shock trying to come to grips with the can of worms that had just opened.
For me the news was a mix of joy and a realization that time was catching up with me and that the *financial* success I have crave for, for so long is still a dream. I, like so many others out there are looking for that pot of gold to make life more comfortable. I use to consider *money* as a gauge to determine my success in life. I and like many of you; have tried over and over again to increase my earnings to provide a better life style for my children. I was determined not to grow up like my parents, always struggling.
Don't get me wrong, I had I good childhood except I never saw much of my dad. He was always working. I did not realize until I had my own kids the reason he worked so hard. When Justin was born, I made a personal commitment to provide my children with the quality time that I missed with my dad and at the same time tried to be a financial success.
My wife Tracee and I have seven children, three boys and four girls. We agree early in our relationship that I would be the main bread winner and she would stay home and care for the children. As the kids were growing up, we would encourage them to play sports and I would help coach their team. This would give me the opportunity to spend more time with them.
My pursuit for financial success still eluded me; I have tried nearly everything to be rich. I have tried most of them and still going through the process. It did not occur to me until recently that the efforts I put in raising my children had produced its rewards. My kids are well adjusted, they are healthy. Justin is going to be a dad at the age of 25, when he was born when I was 20. Jasmin, the eldest daughter is a school teacher. Ashley, my number two son has just settle into an apprenticeship as a panel beater. Sharee, who had just turned eighteen, is a free spirit. She has a job but no ambition, nothing seems to faze her and I worry about her a bit. The other three children, Alysha, sixteen, Crystal, fourteen and Jordan who is our baby boy will turn twelve in September.
I now look at success with different eyes, I might not be rich when it comes to money but I am very rich and very successful and I am going to be a granddad. Hoo! Hoo! Life is wonderful.
Copyright 2005 Nasri Bale
Nasri Bale, novice writer and father of seven children would like to share his life experiences he has had with his kids. He hopes that the articles will touch and inspire, also to let other dads know that they are not alone. You can contact me at, nazri04@hotmail.com
AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage.
AP - Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs even deeper to survive the country's economic and financial storms.
AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.
AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."
AP - Protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer turned violent Wednesday night with windows broken, fires set and train stations closed.
AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.
AP - Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt.
AP - The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.
AP - Jeremy Lin scored 27 points to lead Harvard to an 82-70 upset over No. 17 Boston College on Wednesday night, three days after the Eagles upset previously top-ranked North Carolina.
Reuters - At least four rockets fired from Lebanon exploded in northern Israel on Thursday, wounding two people, police and medics said, in an attack likely linked to Israel's offensive against Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will call for quick action on a fiscal stimulus package in a speech on Thursday aimed at reassuring Americans that he is determined to stem the economic crisis.
Reuters - A fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts soured investor sentiment on Thursday after an employment report suggested U.S. job losses in December could be the worst in almost 60 years.
Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Reuters - It took war, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the collapse of some of New York's famed investment banks, but Manhattan apartment prices are finally falling.
Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.
AFP - The Israeli army fired into northern Lebanon on Thursday after rockets were fired at the Jewish state, an army spokeswoman told AFP.
AFP - Israeli warplanes bombed suspected arms-smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza early Thursday, as diplomats worked to secure a ceasefire in an offensive that has killed 700 Palestinians.
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