On the Swing

As I look out the kitchen window...there she sits on her swing. Since I can remember McKenna has loved the swing. She swings in the morning and at night, she swings when it's windy....she swings when it's hot....she swings in the snow and yes, even in the rain. The swing set is McKenna's Safe Haven, her relaxing place....her thinking spot. As I watch her today, I wonder what she is thinking about as her feet reach for the sky. Is she singing to herself and if so what song? Is she rehearsing her ABCs or talking to an invisible friend? Is she feeling happy and content or wondering what the world will bring her today? The private thought of our children are a mystery to us, as ours are to them. I wish I knew what it's like to be McKenna, swinging through the air with such ease. She always looks so happy. To be five, carefree and gliding through the air.....can you imagine?

Confidence

There is a look in someone's eye when they are felling confident. It seems to radiate loud and clear... "I AM CONFIDENT! I FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHO I AM!"
Everyone wants to have this feeling, although it is my believe that very few actually achieve it.

Last month we had school pictures taken here at Ready, Set, GROW and they were delivered tonight. All of my students looked great and happy. The pictures were outstanding. It was when I looked at my own children's pictures that I first noticed "that" look. There in their eyes was the confidence. They both looked so mature, so proud. They both looked like leaders...strong and sure. I don't recall ever feeling that way...ever seeing myself in that light, but here it was in my children. A sense of pride overwhelmed me and I realized that in those innocent faces lies the future. If all children could feel loved and nurtured, maybe there would finally be some peace in this world.

A friend of mine once gave me a book entitled, The Optimistic Child. In it the readers find a plethora of ideas to help a child grow to be confident and optimistic. One of the greatest lines in the book reads, "Masterful action by the parents is the crucible in which childhood optimism is forged." How a child is taught from the moment of birth...what the child sees and hears shape his very existence. In those pictures I saw the faces of optimism....of confidence. As a mother there is no greater desire than to see one's children bloom into strong adults ready to tackle any obstacle. Tonight I saw into the future and I was proud of what I saw.

Paid Off

Last October we decided to buy bunk beds for the twins. They could not be just any bunk bed, they had to be special. We searched until we found solid wood bunk beds with stairs that reach the top instead of a ladder. Each stair houses a drawer and their are captain drawers under the bottom bed. On the side of the stairs there is a built in bookcase....this bed was perfect. Perfect but expensive, as one can imagine. With great thought we purchased a complete set for each of the twins, realizing that they would not share a room forever.

There are no toys allowed in the twins' room. No food, no drinks.... our goal to keep the bedroom for sleeping and the new bunk beds clean and neat.

We just paid off the bill....time to celebrate. We made a large furniture purchase and were able to pay it off in four months. Perfect! Until tonight when I was putting clothes in the drawers that adorn that ascend the stairs. There it was the portrait of my son's testing the limits. There on the front of the drawer were deep scratches crafted with a sharp stick from outside. Why the stick was in his room and why he felt it was okay to do are not relevant. He did it....he permanently scarred our big purchase...the bed that he was to have for his entire childhood. Although I often tend to over react, I stayed calm and walked my way through the incident with my son. We talked, I stressed my extreme disappointment and he was punished.

The lesson? As a parent there are things that your child will do that are unimaginable. There are times to explode and times to discuss. There are worse things than some scratches on a drawer. Did he learn from this experience only time will tell. Of course the thing that bothers me the most is that the beds were finally paid for. I am sure that someday I will look at those scratches with tears in my eyes, remembering the bright, curious four year old that made them. I'm sure I will consider the scratches a piece of his childhood and maybe even consider them priceless.

From the Mouths of Babes.....

Today I asked McKenna to come into the playroom and help the little ones put the toys away. I told her to teach them how to put the toys in the buckets. A few minutes later, I entered the playroom and there sat nine little souls watching McKenna pick up all the toys.

I said, "McKenna, I asked you to help them pick up, not do it for them."

McKenna responded, "Mommy it's just easier if I do it myself!"

I wonder where she heard that from????????

Egg Plant

McKallum awoke this morning asking this question:

"Mom if I plant an egg in the garden will I grow an egg plant?"