Reflections

Sometimes as parents we can get too caught up in worrying about how our children will turn out. Well, it's just one of those things that we have no control over... truly. We can do our best as parents, teach life lessons, instill some wisdom, encourage them to learn, and see where their paths take them.

I honestly believe though that much of what we do and the choices we make as parents, will inevitably reflect through our children as they grow up. All I do is what I know I need to do for myself. I try to take care of myself. My children often question me, "Mommy what are you reading?" or "Mommy why do you have so many books, didn't you finish school a long time ago?" I tell them that throughout life, we constantly need to keep learning, and that I love to keep feeding my brain.

The books that I have laying around, are books that I know I do not have to hide from them because they are books that are helping me to learn about things that I think will benefit me as an individual, and as a parent. No they are not parenting books, but books that teach about writing, relationships, insights, loving one's self, cooking, gardening, photography, business ideas. I have conversations with my children about the fact that there is still lots to learn outside of what they learn in school everyday. Real life is about being able to know that you are well-informed enough to be able to digest the inescapable changes that will happen. Knowledge is power!

Taking care of myself affords me the ability to emit a positive attitude which my children notice and comment on all the time. There are many times that they beg to participate in my activities, and I adore this because it shows that they support what I do, and or that they simply find the things that I do interesting. They see the diligence and this too is a lesson they learn.... that diligence goes hand in hand with commitment.