I have to hand it to the parents out there – I honestly have no idea how you guys do it. How do you and your spouse hold down a 9 to 5 (or 8 to 6, or 10 to 8, or whatever it may be) job, and somehow maintain children?

It’s a true mystery to me. I am in the midst of super women and super men.

Sure, I understand that push comes to shove, people just make it happen, but man… at what cost? The typical helicopter parents I see are those that have the average 2.5 kids, both spouses are working,and there’s a nanny or daycare in the picture. Of course, this daycare usually costs an arm and a leg, and on top of all of the expenses of family life, it’s a wonder how people are even expected to make ends meet without going into massive debt. If they’re lucky, a retired grandpa or grandma are there to watch the kids pro bono. At the end of the day, are the parents even able to spend precious time with their kids in those critical, formative years?

I’m sure it’s a dilemma many people face.

Of course, down here in LA, people deal with it by moving into the valley, or other less expensive parts of SoCal, where housing is more affordable. Even then, those houses aren’t cheap! Both mommy and daddy are typically scrambling to get their jobs done while somehow caring for the kids.

What’s the solution? I wish someone out there could tell me, because I sure as hell don’t see much joy in marginalizing every aspect of my life by spreading myself so thin (not saying any of you family guys are, but I totally would be in my situation).

This too, I guess I’ll find out someday for myself.