"At a
parenting workshop I attended many years ago, the leader asked us to write down
our goals and hopes for our children as they grow up. What would we like to see
for them at age 21?
It was a
heartwarming experience to imagine our children on the verge of being launched,
all full of glowing potential without the messy inconvenience of reality
mucking up the fantasy. My list
was filled with lofty goals—that they would understand our strengths and
limitations, that they would have a spirit of service toward others, and so
forth. (Later, I asked Robert what
he would wish for our children- what success would look like at age 21. Without
hesitation, he said, 'Their own apartment.')
After
writing our lists, the workshop participants read them to one another and
basked in the radiance of all these self-actualized Eagle scouts and lacrosse
captains, confident yet humble.
They were like young adult ghosts, beaming all around us. Then the
leader said something that made them all disappear: Poof!
'This list
is for you,' she said. 'You want your children to have a spirit of service? A
sense of the Holy? A curiosity and openness to the world? Cultivate those
things for yourself. Let them see you do it. Become the parent and person you
want to be. It’s one of the most important things you can do for your child.' "
-Sabbath in the Suburbs MaryAnn McKibben
Dana
game time last weekend
at the food bank last week bagging up peas
dinner with our neighbors Chuck and Colleen
sweet friends
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