Bittersweet
I'm sitting outside in a nice little RV park in New Mexico. The weather is wonderful. It is quiet and calm. I love early mornings. With the one hour time difference I'm able to be up even earlier with very little effort. I'm loving it.
This week the teens are away at church camp. I am having a very rare opportunity to spend some much needed time alone with my youngest.
Being "the baby" of five children, it seems that she would just be able to consume lots of attention. At times she does! I've just noticed lately that alot of it is negative. This quiet time is allowing me to see just how much she is shuffled among our too busy schedule!
Having two teen daughters who are extremely active (and non-drivers) makes for a hectic schedule to say the least. No one could ever accuse my homeschoolers of not having enough social interaction. They are very social by nature. Myself, on the other hand can be quite content with long periods of time spent alone.
My youngest had a hard time last week. We were informed by some neighbors with children her age that they no longer wanted their children to play with her. I tried to have a conversation with them, just to be clear of their reasoning. I walked away completely confused.
The problem is definitely not because I think my children "can do no wrong". I will be the first person to tell you that we are not a perfect family. I do however feel it is my responsibility to be informed.
I feel I have learned alot in my almost 22 years of parenting, but by no means do I think I know it all! I do understand that I have five very different children with very distict unique personalities. I can see similarities, but the differences are what amazes me.
We serve such an awesome God! He alone could populate a world where no two people are exactly alike.
I think she learned a very hard life lesson this week for a nine year old. Not everyone is going to like us. Our family may do things a little different than the people next door. That is okay.
The most important thing I would like for her to know is that she is loved with a love that surpasses anything she could imagine. She has a family that loves her but most importantly she has Jesus.
He loves her so much that He made a special week for her to have some undivided attention from her parents. He loves her so much that he protected her from the harsh comments of neighbors who don't really know her. He loves her so much that He died for her.
Yes, this past week is a little bittersweet. Life lessons can be rough. I'm thankful that I was able to absorb the brunt of harshness for my baby. I am thankful for being the one who gets to comfort her.
This week the teens are away at church camp. I am having a very rare opportunity to spend some much needed time alone with my youngest.
Being "the baby" of five children, it seems that she would just be able to consume lots of attention. At times she does! I've just noticed lately that alot of it is negative. This quiet time is allowing me to see just how much she is shuffled among our too busy schedule!
Having two teen daughters who are extremely active (and non-drivers) makes for a hectic schedule to say the least. No one could ever accuse my homeschoolers of not having enough social interaction. They are very social by nature. Myself, on the other hand can be quite content with long periods of time spent alone.
My youngest had a hard time last week. We were informed by some neighbors with children her age that they no longer wanted their children to play with her. I tried to have a conversation with them, just to be clear of their reasoning. I walked away completely confused.
The problem is definitely not because I think my children "can do no wrong". I will be the first person to tell you that we are not a perfect family. I do however feel it is my responsibility to be informed.
I feel I have learned alot in my almost 22 years of parenting, but by no means do I think I know it all! I do understand that I have five very different children with very distict unique personalities. I can see similarities, but the differences are what amazes me.
We serve such an awesome God! He alone could populate a world where no two people are exactly alike.
I think she learned a very hard life lesson this week for a nine year old. Not everyone is going to like us. Our family may do things a little different than the people next door. That is okay.
The most important thing I would like for her to know is that she is loved with a love that surpasses anything she could imagine. She has a family that loves her but most importantly she has Jesus.
He loves her so much that He made a special week for her to have some undivided attention from her parents. He loves her so much that he protected her from the harsh comments of neighbors who don't really know her. He loves her so much that He died for her.
Yes, this past week is a little bittersweet. Life lessons can be rough. I'm thankful that I was able to absorb the brunt of harshness for my baby. I am thankful for being the one who gets to comfort her.
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