Katie got quite upset when Maddie asked
Santa for an Ipod last Christmas and Scott/Santa cheerfully obliged - that too
with two Ipods, to make sure Jaxon wasn't left out. She could never understand
what a four year old could do with an Ipod. To Scott, it was just a few
hundred dollars well spent to see the sparkle in his daughter's eyes. He
was after all reliving his childhood through them. He felt that it was unfair
to “force” the kids to live in a well-off neighborhood to get the benefit of a
good school district and then not provide them with competitive “equipment”
which they could easily afford. He had learnt over the years not to argue with
Katie though.
Lately, Scott has been thinking a lot about financial
security for his family. He is aware of Katie's efforts to find a job over the
past 2 years. He also knows in his heart that for a 40 year old woman to enter
work force after seven years of break is next to impossible. He is researching
good avenues to invest their nest egg. He wants to ensure his family has
something to lean on if he loses his job or if something were to happen to him.
He keeps good health and is generally health conscious. He rides his
bicycle every weekend and visits the gym quite regularly. But his
sedentary job and frequent Happy hours with colleagues are beginning
to take their toll. He has been acutely aware of his increasing waist size ever
since he turned forty. Scott tries his best to look good and young. Other people’s
perception of him and his family matter a lot to him. He works very hard to
please his boss and colleagues at work. But he works even harder to look cool
and trendy when he is out with his friends.
He takes his family out to one cool kid-friendly vacation
every summer. He just wishes he could travel less to Disney and more to Cozumel
and Vegas. He had a great time with his wife before they had kids.
They traveled to exotic places and had done so many exciting things
together. He wishes to connect back with that active and young Katie who loved
to live every day to the fullest. He was not even aware of their different
view-points on "overly materialistic outlook" as Katie calls it
until a few years back. He tried to encourage Katie to come out of her routine
and do something for herself. He tried giving her Spa gift certificates which
she never used. He loves the fact that his wife takes such good care of the kids
and him but he never wanted to marry Betty Crocker. He fell in love with the
girl who was more active and fun loving than most guys he had seen. He is now
determined to bring that Katie back.
To start his own venture is his big
dream. He had been wishing and planning for a decade now. It is never the right
time. He worked with a couple of friends several times on some business ideas.
They would do some research and gather data and then never execute on it.
Several times, he had started web development projects which start with a bang
the first week or so and then slowly come to a grinding halt. It was always
some project pressure at work or something he had to do for the family. He
tells himself and others that he could never find a good idea or partner or
seed money or time. Or that the economy isn’t strong enough for a new entrepreneur
to start his venture. But in his heart he knows - He is just too worried about the
risk of failure to take the leap. He sometimes tells himself that if Katie hadn’t
quit her job, he could more confidently quit working and focus on setting up his
own business.
He believes that if he is successful at setting up his own
business, his kids would have a strong starting point in life. They would never
need to work for someone else. A well developed successful business would be
his gift to Maddie and Jaxon who would jointly manage this business after he
retires.
