As promised - More Thankfulness! Now with Twice the Gratitude! And if you act now, Free Grace!
Five Things About My Children that Make Me Thankful
1. Their Intelligence - So, here's the thing. I know that all parents, universally believe their children to be the smartest, prettiest, funniest kids on Earth. It's a biological imperative. Of course, not all of us can be right. (Like me.) Just kidding. Here's the thing. My kids - they are smart kids. Maren scares me sometimes with the stuff she knows and I am completely guilty of forgetting that sh'es only two because she's the size of a six year old, talks as well as a five year old and likes to work on cars. Brynna is one of those kids who's too smart to bother and we fight against that, but the fact is that I kind of sometimes secretly agree with her. Why should she do 110 math problems to prove that she knows how to carry. I would think that 20 or 30 would prove the same thing.
In any case, smarties I have. Geniuses I don't. For which I am also grateful. There's a lot of pressure and stress and worry that comes with parenting a genius level kid and I, for one, am not sure I would be so good at it. My kids aren't Einstein (probably) but they are smarter than your average bear and that makes me very proud, happy and thankful. Until their homework exceeds my knowledge and then I'll be vair unhappy.
2. Their Health - On the one hand, obvs I am thankful that I have healthy kids. On the other hand, I am struck sometimes by the very vastness of what can go wrong. Kids are born with all sorts of weird issues that require tons of surgery and therapy to overcome, or they develop diseases and sicknesses that shake the foundation of the world. Or they have allergies that can make the scent of a good PB&J kill them dead. I read an article once about vaccinations where a parent of an imuno-compromised child thanked parents of healthy children for getting the vaccinations that her child can't have and increasing the "herd protection." She talked at length about what a simple case of chicken pox could do to her child and I cried all the way through it. I've always been pro-vac, but that article made me super-pro-vac. And it also took my breath away at just how very, very fragile the lives of our children are. Sometimes I forget about it and I get annoyed with another ear infection or stomach virus, but in truth, I am one of the most blessed mothers in the world.
3. Maren's Love of All Things Scary - It's probably no secret that I love scary movies, scary books and scary TV shows. Although I haven't exactly plopped her down in front of The Exorcist yet (she's TWO), so does Maren. She loves a good fright and she likes scary stories and Scooby Doo and she jumps and grabs her chest whenever she's scared and then erupts into the most glorious cascade of giggles. Because she, like me, likes the scary things that really scare her. We have a creepy, crawly future together, Maren. I will show you the world (of blood, creepy kids and psycho pastors).
4. Brynna's Love of All Things Bookish - It's altogether possible that Brynna may never watch a horror movie with and that Doctor Who and Wallace and Grommet may be the only things TV/cinematic we ever have in common. But, girl loves to read. Give her a book and a corner and she quickly turns into a seven year old version of me, nose in a book, swept away, deaf and blind to the outside world. I love to watch her read. I love to share a blanket and the couch and both of us just zone out flipping away. She like mystery and historic fiction and books about animals and princesses and I love that she's just getting started.
5. Their Mineness - Ultimately, what I am most grateful for when it comes to my kids is that they are that. My kids. All their foibles, beauty, stubbornness, smarts. All the moments when I am so proud they are mine and even the moments when I can't hush them up and they are embarrassing the pants off of me. They are mine. I would die for them, walk on fire for them. Live for them. They are the best of me and the worst of me, but they are mine.
So what about you? What makes you thankful when it comes to the kiddos? Or the furry kiddos? Or the non-kiddo family? I'm really not picky here...
3 comments:
It was really good for me to read this after being whined at all afternoon and told that I am boring. My kids are pretty great, too, and I am lucky to have them.
Amen, ladies!
I loved reading this! And my 2nd grade teacher told my mom one day, "Ann is 35 pages behind in math," (or something like that). (I would do a few problems, realize I had it down, and then stop.) However, even though math was easy for me when I was very small, it stopped being easy. I mean, it might actually benefit her long-term to do the rest of those math problems. (I wonder where I would be today if I had finished my math book in 2nd grade...) (Also, pretty sure she's smarter than I am, and she'll probably be fine. Heck. I'm fine.)
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