We can enact change, within our hearts and in the greater world. And though these small actions might not lead to a stacked resume, or an Instagram-worthy feed, the ripple effect of their positive contribution may prove to leave a much larger impact.
If other parents are smiling on skis and making snow angels,
why I am pulling my hair out before lunch? And then, further down the path of guilt, I worry that my
children will only have memories of a cranky, overwhelmed mother. Not graceful pictures captured in the snow, but a frazzled, frustrated grouch.
How do we teach them, not to be scared of the world and rob them of simple joys, but to be prudent and cautious, while learning respect for everyone and their journey?
My frustration reached the point where, instead of trying to protect our time, I was becoming almost aggressively defensive of our daily lives. I wouldn’t let anything, or worse, anyone, into our world who threatened to knock the cards down.
While I could juggle literal life-altering decisions in the moment, I struggled when it came to the day-to-day decisions of running our family and contributing to our community.
All I needed to know, I learned from Nanny.
Earlier this year, a friend, just shy of bringing home baby #3, asked me a question I know I’ve asked myself on more than one occasion: “Am I crazy to have more than two children?” I was startled at first, mostly because our little town is packed with large families. But then I returned right … [Read more…]
As we progress through each step of childhood, I’ve found that every moment I think I’ve reached a finish line, or at least made it one step closer, I’m startled to discover that someone has moved it. The needs I thought I could anticipate, I didn’t. The moments where I felt prepared, I wasn’t. The frustration mounts to the point where I can’t seem to catch a break, no matter how hard I try.
While they are being wrapped in celebration, I want to know that my girls have learned that the content of their character far outweighs their score on a test.
I can still hear her voice, all these years later, as I watch my daughters learn the give and take of our most vital relationships, around their Gran’s table.