"Life is like writing a novel: You set off in a certain direction and then end up somewhere else all together. Upon your arrival at your surprise destination, you think, "If only I'd known then what I know now, this is where I would have been going in the first place. This is where I belong."
~Second Draft of My Life by Sara Lewis
Amen. And this about sums up where I am today. This is where I belong. This is so where I should have been going in the first place...
The momma.
The maker of memories.
The caretaker of their hearts.
The crafter of their magical childhood.
The teacher of love, acceptance, respect and kindness.
The planner of life's celebrations.
The protector of their littleness.
The keeper of their souls.
Crafting their childhood is the greatest and most rewarding and important work I will ever do. The responsibility is absolutely enormously crazy overwhelming when you really think on it. But when I break it down into moments - seconds in a day when I decide is "it" worth a battle? Is it really not that big of a deal. Is "it" a moment that can somehow be made more special? Do I possess the power to spin "it" into something that could be a positive? Can we laugh here instead of get frustrated? My barometer is usually if it won't matter in 5 years, then it probably is not worth the emotional energy and I am learning to let "it" go. And it is good for us. And sometimes I fail. And I apologize. And they forgive me. And I learn. And we do better next time.
When taken one precious moment at a time, "it" is so much easier. What else could I possibly want other than
- To make it my life's work to one day at a time, fill my precious boy's childhoods with magic, memories and experiences.
- To fill their memories with traditions they can count on and strong foundations, rooted in gratitude for God's small blessings and beauty in the world.
- To teach them to be content.
- To teach them to look for beauty even when it is sometimes hard to see.
- To teach them to stand strong and tall and know who they are at their core.
- To teach them to be kind, considerate and loving.
- To teach them it is the strongest souls that can say "I'm sorry"
- To let them become fully themselves and support them in their life - full stop. Expect much. Accept all.
- To earn their love, respect and friendship.
- To let go enough to let them soar like eagles into their destiny.
- To hold on loose enough that they know that I am always here for them and they are never ever alone.
- To do my best to shine a light on the beauty and wonder in their world at every opportunity.
- To always give them a soft safe place to fall.
- To instill in the deepest part in the core of their heart that they are cherished and loved beyond all measure before the world has the chance to break their hearts and in the process mine, too.
For they are my heart. And if they break, then so do I.
I know we will have our challenges. I know that it is not always easy. But if we can focus on the good, then the goodness becomes more of what we see. Paraphrased from
Simple Abundance: With a focus on the little things, the common becomes holy. Gratitude, my babies. Gratitude gets you through a lot.
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