Bohemian Dad.

I used to avoid working a lot more than I currently avoid working. I know that may be hard to believe, but it's true.
At one point in my life I had the goal of writing fiction for a living. I read a lot of Bohemian writers and took inspiration from them, most notably Henry Miller.
Miller was a tramp for the most part. Job to job, town to town, until he finally settled in a drafty old cabin in the middle of nowhere.
Like Miller I drifted from job to job, town to town, and I did my best at all times to live hand to mouth. I worked part time if at all, rented closets from likeminded peers in divey apartments. I bought all my clothing used or shared with friends.
The goal of course was always to spend the spare time writing.
I did a lot of writing. What I did not do however was any of the follow through. In 38 years I've sent off 2 pieces of work, to 2 prospective publishers for consideration. That's it. Anyway, I digress.
The point is this. When I became a father, I decided that I'd lost the right to be a Bohemian. My own parents were thrifty to say the least, and I've got to admit that they're choice to clothe me in generic outfits throughout childhood left me a bit scarred. Kids can be mean, especially when they have brand name and you don't.
So I've decided not to put my own kids through that Hell. Every fall we head out to the athletic stores and we get them top of the line running shoes. I spend the $10 or $20 extra to buy them the better labels of clothes.
But I'm conflicted. Personally, I'm averse to consumerism. I subscribe more to the principles of simplicity set forth by Thoreau. It's my own personal philosophy. I'm not going to spend more than a 2 grand on a car, because it doesn't make sense to me. I can't imagine spending more than 20 bucks on anything but task specific wardrobe items (running gear being the exception, injuries and discomfort are extremely demotivating.) I think that mainstream culture has lost touch with what's important because of rampant consumerism. Personalities seem too defined by what they have and what they don't.
That being said, personalities seem defined by what they have and what they don't, and I'm working on defining 3 little personalities every day. As much as I embrace counter-culture thoughts and philosophies, I kind of want them to be mainstream. Hippie families like this just don't cut it in the 21st Century. Do they?