Tuesday, June 27, 2017

I don’t want to teach that lesson….


I’m a mother to a 21-month old little girl, Hen. I won’t pretend to know what it’s like to fully raise a child. I’m just getting started. Right now I’m trying to teach Hen how to count to 5. So far, we’ve got one to three.

In addition to four and five, there are many lessons left. Many of them I can’t wait to start. For example, the first time she has a book report! I can’t wait to read the book along with her, just like my mom did. Or the first time we bake a cake together and it’s a gooey disastrous mess. But, there are other lessons I’m not so excited to discuss. Like, the first time a friend hurts her feelings, the day I have to explain that she cannot trust everyone, when we talk about infatuation vs love. I’m not looking forward to her first heartbreak or the moment I’m standing on the sideline in fear she’s making a mistake, but trying to decide if it’s a mistake she should make. Ugh. Even just thinking through all the scenarios makes me anxious.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Happy Father's Day! A love note to my husband.


My husband and I have been something special from the minute we saw each other. Through dating we also became best friends. And in August 2015, he took on a 3rd role as my co-pilot in the wonderfully crazy ride that is parenting.

Of all of these roles, he doesn’t get enough cred for his role as “Daddy”. So on his second Father’s Day, here’s a little ode to the guy that’s number one in my heart and Henley’s.

Quinn,

There’s possibly no sweeter sound that Henley saying “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy” each night when she wants you to come visit her in bed. Except maybe when you walk into the room and she bursts into a fit of giggles. Her love for you is grand and vast and big.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Please don't label my child.



Being kind is hard. It takes patience, empathy, consideration, warmth, open-mindedness, curiosity, and courage. Each day I work to be kind and to raise a kind child. One thing I’ve learned is that I can have a kind heart and still not be kind in each moment because I’m not perfect.

My daughter is the same way. She has a kind heart. Each morning she wakes up with the priority to take care of our three rescues. She won't eat until they have. She’s giving. At her first Easter egg hunt, she filled her basket with eggs and then went to each of the kids still learning to walk and put eggs in their basket. We left with zero eggs. In spite of that heart, she has moments that are perceived to be unkind. And this is when the world knocks her down. This is when the world holds her to a standard that none of us could meet. This is when the world labels her as “spoiled”, “selfish”, “manipulative”.
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