Life is a roller coaster raising children, isn't it? It's full of twists and turns, ups and downs, highs and lows...Sometimes you feel like you're in the dark, but somehow the sun always returns. If we let it, anyway.
Sometimes, we find the sunshine in a single word or smile. Sometimes, it's a gesture or an act of kindness. Where have you found the sunshine in your child lately?
Maybe a more important question is - have you found the sunshine within yourself? Sometimes, the faintest ray or sparkle means more than a full blue sky. Just imagine a rainbow. You're at one end, and your child's at the other. The connection is worth more than any pot of gold.
That rainbow is often hard to find once your child plunges into the teen years. Just when we think our older children need us less, we find out that they need us even more than ever. It may just be in a different way, and one we may not see right away.
It's kind of like catching sight of a rainbow. If you're lucky enough to be looking in the right direction at just the right moment, and take time out to really look at it, you'll remember it forever.
Children of all ages say the most amazing things sometimes. In my daughter's case, she writes some amazing things too. Recently, she wrote that moms don't just inspire learning. They inspire love, and they inspire happiness too.
Somehow, while I was immersed in the details of writing this blog, StrawberryGirl had seen the bigger picture of it all! Yes, moms (and dads) do inspire learning, but only if they inspire love and happiness first! It's so true.
Children will want to learn with and from us if we radiate love, warmth, and happiness. There's no one way to do that - no special recipe or guide book. We all have to find our own way - mistakes and all.
And I don't know about you, but I've learned just as much from my children as they have from me! It's been a ride I'll never forget - bumps and all...
So, what do you inspire in your child? What does your child inspire in you?
Just a little food for thought to set the first week of May in motion. It's Mother's Day on Sunday, too!
