It��s my least favorite genre of literature: the lists people publish of things to do before having a baby. Go sky diving! Write a book! Go out to eat!

I��m sure the authors mean well, but they perpetuate an unfortunate idea. Namely, that kids suck all fun of the non-playground variety out of life, and that parents can’t have an independent existence. If we��re honest about how we spend our time, though, none of that has to be true. In that spirit, I bring you a list of 7 things you don��t have to do before taking the plunge - because they can still happen after.

1. Establish yourself professionally. There are 168 hours in a week. If you work 40-50, and sleep 8 hours per night (56 per week) that leaves 62-72 for other things. There is time to build a career and build a family simultaneously, if you want.

2. Travel. Trade off with other extended family members or drop the kids at the grandparents. No, you won��t travel every weekend, but an adults-only trip once a year is doable. And eventually the kids will be old enough to come along, go to camps, or stay with friends, and travel can become a bigger part of your life again - with the upside that this time, you’ll be able to afford non-hostel accommodations.

3. Run a marathon. I used the Run Less Run Faster plan to train for the Big Sur Marathon last year. It took about 6-8 hours per week, so only 3-4 more than I was already exercising. And that was only for four months. Running 6 marathons a year might get tedious for your family, but if it��s on your bucket list, you can manage one.

4. Go out to eat. One word: babysitters. Instead of blowing your money on crappy lunch counter food, save up and splurge every few weeks on a sitter and a dinner somewhere nice.

5. Try sky diving. Personally, I never had any desire to do this before or after kids, but if you do, keep this in mind: one of the most dangerous things we Americans do is get in our cars. Parents do that all the time. If you don��t fret about driving on the freeway, then you can try bungee jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, or anything else that seems ��extreme�� but is probably as safe as your bathtub.

6. Have all the sex you want to have. Somehow, most people who become parents manage to have subsequent children. You��ll figure it out — even if it involves strategic use of .

7. Write that novel. Ever heard of J.K. Rowling? When things are a priority to us, we do them. Whether we have kids or not.

How have you made time for favorite activities, post-kids?

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