Things I have learned from my son....

As parents, or adults, we have the daunting task of teaching children and those younger than us all the things they need to know to survive life. Ok, our goal is to actually teach them to conquer life not just survive it but sometimes all you can do is tread the surface. In order to fill this tall order we draw from our own experiences, our own instinct, OUR OWN everything. Now, if we are honestly wise we will temper this with a balance of us and them. That's right, we listen to what they are saying, what they are feeling, what they want and then our guidance for them will be more tailored to actually fit them and not just hang on them like a third generation hand me down.

With my oldest it took me a long time to realize that while we have many things in common, she is a totally different person than me. We share DNA, we are both girls, we even share some common experiences. When I guide her as a teenager I can think back to when I was her age to gain some perspective but while some things never change about high school, some things do. She is such a different teen than I ever was. She is smarter and wiser, she is more focused on her future, she is careful with her heart and she has support systems in place that I never had.

That first child is always our learning curve. Bless their hearts, they are our test rats in a way. We make so many mis-steps with them while trying to find the right path. So when that second one comes along we think we have this parenting/mentor thing down. This is when we realize that we still have so much to learn, life is funny that way.

From day one I was at a loss with Daniel. We did not bond right away and I had this paranoid feeling that I was not good enough to be his mom. Well, I tried to chalk that one up to hormones. He was a boy and I knew nothing about boys, what had I gotten myself into? Oh but I loved that beautiful baby enough for the both of us and we would figure it out. Then there was the whole sharing thing. With my first, her dad and I had seperated while I was still pregnant, I never had to share her. Daniel had a whole second family that wanted to be a part of his life, I wasn't sure how that worked either but I was thrilled that he had so much love around him. As time went on there were so many things that were different from his sister. He was self-scheduled, she was not. He had tummy troubles with everything, she did not. He walked and talked late, she was early at everything. He was a thumbsucker, easy going, had to have everything just so kind of a kid. She was not oral, but was very stubborn and more of a free spirit. You get the picture, right? Totally different kids. And the third one is a whole story of her own.

The one thing that all three of my kids have in common, other than they all own my heart, is that they are constantly teaching me something. Some lessons are intentional and others are purely by blessing. Here are some of the things that Daniel has taught me....

1. There is a blessing to be had in every thorn.
2. More than I ever wanted to know about Anime.
3. Even when we don't care if people are around us, we still need them.
4. Rules are important, only when they make sense.
5. If someone does not show emotion in there face, it does not mean that it does not still run deep within them.
6. The fourth dimension is about Tacos. (Really it is Time)
7. Love is not always shown by affection, sometimes it is simply shown by trust.
8. There are lots of things we need to ask God about when we meet Him.
9. It takes courage to face your fears but life gets so much better when you do.
10. Life is like a hologram, the most brilliant things appear when you look from a different point of view.