It's my birthday today! Recently I asked my kids to finish this statement:
"the most important thing I learned in my childhood from my mom was .... "
Since today is all about me (oh brother), i thought I'd share what they had to say.
JESSE: There are a lot of things you taught me. Well you taught me school from grade 2 - 6 so there must of been a lot of things taught in that span! But I think the top 3 would be how much God loves me. How much family means. And how to manage my money would be the third.
DALYCE: The most important thing I learned from my mom was to never stop being a dreamer. Go after the impossible, be wild and free. dream big... I remember saying funny/wild comments to my mom about things I wanted to be when I grew up or what I wanted to do. She'd buy us microscopes when we wanted to be scientists or doctors or put us in music lessons when we wanted to be famous. She'd start brainstorming for me/with me, with my dad about how to help me succeed in my dreams and desires. Nothing was too big for her to help me fight for or strive to get or become. In her eyes I could be anyone, do anything. So maybe what I really learned from her was to never give up, keep going. Dreams are just the starting point at finding or becoming who you were meant to be. My mom taught me how to believe, how to be strong, how to fight for the things you see that are good but mainly she taught me that being happy isn't cookie cutter, life isn't built up of formulas or certain steps that will bring you success and happiness, rather she taught me that life is hard but worth the fight of knowing you are leaving a mark on this world. That dreams are meant to inspire you to figuring out what you like and what you don't. That being different is ok. That we're all special and we'll all live life a little differently than the people around you, and that's ok.
ALYSSA: I think one of the main things I remember about my childhood was there was so much support and freedom. We were really allowed to chase whatever dream came to mind--
You were completely loving and tender and comforting-- but you let us fall, make mistakes, pick ourselves up, and keep going. You and dad were our biggest cheerleaders. You let us break arms, skin our knees and get dirty. I guess, when looking back, the feeling I have about my childhood was freedom with loving boundaries. You had this framework for us to live in // "fences" to keep us safe // but within that we were allowed to spread our wings and try and fail and try again.
I was never worried you weren't going to be there. You were always a constant. Like I said, I could try new things, step out of my child-like "comfort zone", and I KNEW that you would be there. I knew that you and Dad would be at every swim meet, every parent-teacher interview, every basketball game... I never had to think twice about that. Something I probably totally took for granted, but something that I know allowed me to flourish because of the SECURITY.
Thank you my dear children! I love you all so much!
