My family knows how to make a person feel appreciated. From when the girls were young, whether they made a finger painting or served up half raw pancakes, they’ve put heart into making me feel important and loved. This year my breakfast was a bowl of spicy Asian noodles, cooked up by Paul, because they know me so well. They made cards, bought and planted my favorite flowers in my favorite colors, treated me to more of my favorite foods.
This year the girls were going to do a video card for me, but their cousin was visiting and I encouraged them to do one for her mom. That took all afternoon, but it turned out great. I have a book of all the Mother’s Day cards the girls have made for me. This year Madi did a postcard style from Japan and Kier did a sunflower watercolor.
Here’s the front and back of Madi’s. That’s her in the upper right corner dressed as a Maiko, from the last time we were in Japan.
I called my 93 year old mom as asked what she thinks are the most important traits to teach kids. Here were her top 10.
- Find a good church and be part of it in order to develop faith and be part of a community.
- Don’t focus only on the intellectual, but also social skills so they can learn how to get along with others.
- Foster relationship with aunts and uncles.
- Teach them to help the people in need around them.
- Don’t worry too much about being rich but spend money wisely.
- When considering marriage, make sure to think it over more carefully.
- You can never have too many practical skills like cooking, sewing, fixing things.
- Be choosey what activities you spend your time on, because time is limited, finite.
- Know the value of family.
- Remember that we’re part of a rich nation and make sure to share with the world.
Before I talked to her I wrote down what I thought she emphasized as a parent. Our list had similarities but also shows that kids don’t always take away what their parents think they’re focusing on.
- Stop caring what others think. It paralyzes and is never a good use of energy.
- Stay curious and keep exploring. We visited many museums, read lots of books.
- The value of knowledge and how education was the best escape of poverty.
- Empathy and caring for those with less.
- Never blindly follow authority. Always question and evaluate.
- Happiness often comes in small packages like doggies, cream puffs, or chocolate.
- A large part of being resilient is understanding things could always be much, much worse.
- Don’t rely on others for your emotional stability or happiness. Be self-sufficient.
- Nonconformity. Don’t be distracted by the status quo when being you.
- The importance of faith.
At the end of the day, surrounded by candles and my family, we had dinner and lingered after. One thing that’s true, we tend to congregate to the same place. The girls don’t use their rooms except for storage and a place to sleep. We prefer to be with each other rather than alone. Makes me happy.
I wondered what my kids would say I’ve emphasized to them as a mom. Maybe next year I’ll ask for their top 10.
