A Month of Thanksgiving - Day 8 (Sunday)
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." Robert Brault
Today I am grateful for my children, Megan, Alex and Tim, who have taught me so much. As a younger than "normal" mother, starting out at just 18 myself, in some ways I grew up along with them. I was barely 21 when Tim came along and I was so busy working and surviving that I had little time to enjoy the children as babies, toddlers and all those childhood development stages and firsts.
Despite life speeding by us going at Mach 3 with our hair on fire, my children have taught me patience, to savor the memories, and to slow down. When Megan was a little girl, we had teddy bear tea parties for her birthday and her friends all came over dressed in their Sunday best, and brought their favorite Teddies. We wore princess crowns and made jewelry and played games like Chutes and Ladders.
Later I was in charge of teaching crafts at my kids' Missionettes club (a Christian faith based scouts group). In the Daisies group (age 8-10 girls), I planned out the crafts, found the supplies and figured out how to teach 10 girls how to make something they would be proud of in 30-45 minutes once a week. These kids taught me to plan carefully, be more organized, and more importantly, to laugh at myself when I made mistakes.
My boys were active and loved to play soccer or baseball. I didn't know enough about either of these, but I took them to practice anyway and watched as Tim and Alex had fun and learned to play the game along with the other kids. Many times I was 'snack mom' and had to remember to bring the oranges slices and granola bars and it was really hard because I was not that organized and had challenges remembering when it was my turn. We didn't have cellphones to remind us of appointments, but my day planner did - along with my long, long to-do lists and sticky note reminders did their job. (No kid went without post-game snacks). My kids taught me to be more time-conscious and plan ahead.
Junior high and High school were filled with band concerts and plays, school open-houses, parent-teacher conferences, parades and football games watching the band perform. There were holidays filled with laughter, and sometimes stress and tears. These are the best memories. All families have them - it is a mixed bag of blessings, and wouldn't trade any of it. My kids taught me to savor these moments - that would later become my precious memories.
My children taught me everything and in some ways they raised me more than I raised them.
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