So Far, So Good

It's Mother's Day. It's still the middle of the night and I haven't gone to bed yet, but the house is quiet and I thought it's been a while since I last posted.

I've been a mother for almost 13 years. I think for the first five, I still couldn't believe I was someone's mother. Who in their right mind would see fit to give me children?? LOL Well, someone did. And I will be grateful for the rest of my life for it.

Parents always wonder if we're doing our job right. We second guess practically every single decision we make. Could we have made something better? Something easier? Could we have protected them better? Set them on a different path than the one they are beginning to follow? Do we dare ever pat ourselves on the back for a job well done? Not enough, I think. It's the small things that shape their path, in my opinion. How they react in certain situations can go one of two ways, as with all things in life.

Three times in the last month or so, our oldest child, who is a confident, well-liked girl, has chosen to take the path of what is right as opposed to what is easy. By that, I mean her "friends" ridiculed her on three occasions in very immature and mean ways when she wouldn't give in to peer pressure and do whatever everyone else was doing. And each time, instead of bringing herself to the same immature level, she handled herself in such a way that would make any parent proud.

A few days ago, she decided to take matters into her own hands, when her friends refused to take action, and even though the situation was (thank Christ) a prank as far as we know, if it hadn't been, her small action might possibly have saved lives. The fact that she chose to be a leader instead of a follower, at the risk of being taunted by her peers, was something that I doubt very much that I would have been capable of at her age. I am proud. More then I can ever put into words.

My husband once pointed out to me that our children are the only ones in life who will ever love their parents unconditionally. He didn't say those words, but I knew what he meant. And he's right. The love we give and accept from our spouse is something in itself, but the love of a child is just......something else.