The New Year is just around the corner. I cannot believe it. This is the first full year I have spent as a single mom.

My children are 18, 17, and 11. We've found we're able to do several tasks by ourselves — things we would have never tried to do alone before. No handyman needed here.

We replaced a section of the kitchen floor together. It's not perfect but it's much better than it was. In addition, no one has fallen through yet. So I guess we did it right.

We learned how to change an alternator on my daughter's car. That was not nearly as difficult as we thought it would be.

We've had a couple of plumbing jobs. One on the dishwasher and the other the bathroom sink. Those both turned out just fine.

We are gaining confidence every day in ourselves and the things we're capable of. Not just in household maintenance, but it carrying over to other things as well.

We enjoy the time together doing projects like this. We are learning together. We are saving money. We are building memories. So next time something breaks, we won't run to the phone and call someone to come and fix it. We'll sit down together, check the do-it-yourself sites on the Internet, get a plan, and make a day of it.

And we will all be better off for having done so.

Update.. Karen...You are absolutely right, The satisfaction is great.