(drumroll PLEASE!)
Three things I want my kids to . . ."
THREE things?!? I have to limit it to THREE?!?
just kidding.
They really aren't that bad. In fact, they are rather amazing.
But I am slightly biased...
kinda, you know. I'm just saying.
Three Things I want my Kids to Grow up to Be...
I used to be an uptight mom.
OK, uptight doesn't begin to cover it. Saying I was uptight is like calling an avalanche a collection of snowflakes.
I thought my kids HAD to act a certain way, BE a certain way, TALK a certain way, BE in the right clubs, teams and classes in order to be an "upstanding" part of the community. We had to LOOK "respectable".
After my husband disappeared, life got much simpler. For awhile, I didn't' CARE what happened or what they did and our home disintegrated into a "Habitrail house". You know, trails everywhere in between the piles of stuff. We simply survived each day.
Now that Mommy has "come to" and realized what is important in this life, the RULES have changed. There are only three goals I am working toward while raising these guys. I don't care if they become Artists, Veterinarians or Vagrants (well, ok, I hope not the last one, but you get my point) as long as three things are deeply, deeply ingrained in their soul.
1) I know my mom loves me and that God loves me no matter what happens, where I go or what I do.
2) I am responsible for the consequences of my actions. There are no "free rides". If I do something wrong, no matter how sorry I am, I must pay the price - even if it is as simple as confessing what I have done or as tough as spending time in jail.
3) Compassion for others and remembering that I should treat others the way I want to be treated is the way to live our lives if we want to be happy.
I know, others may not agree with me. But that's alright. We all raise our children differently. I am happy that I have my children and blessed to be allowed to raise them. I think (and the therapist thinks :D) that they benefit from a mom who is more relaxed and allows them to be more creative than constructed; to be more playful than pushed; to be more fun then focused. Allowing them to explore within limits but WITHOUT the possibility of being yelled at for things that do not matter is one of the greatest gifts I can give them.
The other gift is to love them. Unconditionally.
Well, that's it. My submission to the Group Writing Project. Come join in! The more, the merrier, ya' know!!
4 comments:
Thank you so much for this list! I think your three things are absolutely excellent. Love, responsibility and compassion are all things we definitely need more of in the world.
Thank you!
Great post! Loved it! You made my smile at the avalanche comment. :)
Very nice post! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the very thoughtful list. Whether they turn out to be artists, musicians, doctors, or lawyers, these three things will steady them.
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