Yea, I got nothin'!
In the greater scheme of things, I have been a parent a mere fraction of a lifetime. There are people out there with 70 year experience of 10 kids or more. I am sure they would have tips on parenting.
You see, I just sort of float along on this ride called life and hopefully no one falls off. Just when I think I've got it all figured out, they grew up on me. They think and speak for themselves. As they gain independence they (definitely) form their own opinions. They have developed friendships outside of our immediate family. On a daily basis they do things that make me scratch my head and I wonder how they got from point A to Z....and I missed it.
We were playing at the park yesterday and I just sat on the bench and watched them for the longest time, completely lost in their own carefree worlds of make-believe and pure joy. We had no where to be, no task to complete. Just a wonderful morning in the fresh air after being trapped all winter. I am sure to the casual onlooker it seemed as if I was not interested in what my girls were doing and preferred to sit by myself rather than interact with them during play. Actually, it was quite the opposite. I often times get so wrapped up on being right in the action during our daily activities, I forget to take a step back and just watch my kids be kids. Yesterday I made my own memories as Riley raced her shadow down the big slide and Maya pushed every empty swing in the row trying to make them all go before the first one stops and Teagan picked all of the tiny "flowers" at the edge of the fence post to use as tickets for her airplane rides.
So, my "tips", not just for parenting but for enjoying the ride of a lifetime...
Love
Observe
Participate
Go with the flow
Appreciate
Encourage
Savor
