My children, a precious gift

As high school graduation approached my NHS advisor asked the top students in our class to fill out a questionnaire about our plans for the future. We were to be spotlighted at graduation and she needed information to prepare her comments. A few days after I turned in my questionnaire I got a note asking me to see her. When I entered the room she informed me that “mother” was not an appropriate career goal to be announced at graduation. After some discussion we agreed that she would state my career goal as “history teacher and mother”.

I truly did want to be a mother. I was also going to attend a university and receive a top notch education, but I knew that my greater goal was to raise a family. I have been raising that family for the last nine years.

Maybe it’s because of my goal , or maybe it’s because I’m cut from a different cloth, but my heart breaks a little when I encounter parents who seem resentful of their children. Of course there are challenges and frustrations in childrearing, but speaking negatively about our children, whether they are present or not, does not remedy the situation. I feel like children are a precious gift. I’m trying to remember that and to treat my children like the gift that they are.

My dearest friend once shared some words from her mother, “All children deserve parents who think they’re the greatest thing in the world. Who else will be on their side?” Those just might be the wisest words I’ve ever heard.

Tags: advice, goals, parenting, showing kids love