Today I just wanted to share several photos I took a few months ago. My house seems to be in a constant state of disaster. With four children, one of which is a rather intense toddler, homeschooling, and working to get other things done as well, we do not seem to be able to ever catch up with cleaning.
So, instead of making it a huge priority to have that ideal house, I am working to appreciate creativity, the fact my kids live in my house and use it, the fact they constantly are coming up with new ideas and things to do, the fact that they are real, alive and busy with life. We are a family with a lot going on - activities, creativity... I would rather have creative, interested kids, than a perfect house. I want to make sure we spend time on school, and when they are so interested in learning something, I want to put a priority on that, rather than on some ideal I have in my mind for neatness.
My heart truly goes out to the families of the children killed in the recent shooting in Connecticut. The thing that bothers me so much is wondering what those little children were experiencing inside when a man was standing there shooting at them. I can only imagine the panic and fear they felt. I can't be inside them, but I do know my children panic over small things - falling off a bicycle, tripping on the stairs, a new ballet class, uncertainty of surroundings, etc. And then I wonder what could have happened inside this man that he could fathom doing something so horrible. My only guess is that some sort of mental illness was there.
And so I check myself: do I know what is going on inside my own children? Are they open with me? When they panic or get angry, what are they feeling? My job as a parent is not to have children who are perfect on the outside. My job is to teach, to understand, to appreciate, to support, to love.
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