my kids

for the past month and a half, i have witnessed a beautiful thing.  and part of the reason it is totally worth mention, is that i don't always stop and recognize the lovely qualities i see in my kids often enough.  for me as a mom, it is easy to get stuck in a rut of feeling like character development in my children should be faster, should be greater, should be far easier to measure.  and on many a day, this can feel like a direct reflection on how well i am or am not doing in my role as their mom.  sometimes i'll try to explain this to Jeff.  when i worked as a nurse, it was easy to measure outcomes.  at the end of a shift i could look back over the twelve hours and realize i'd administered all medications, recorded findings, completed doctor's orders and procedures, treated specific areas that were receiving attention by way of dressings or therapies, etc....i would know if i'd met emotional needs as well, and hopefully there was a patient resting comfortably because of my attentiveness to their needs....well, with my kids~ not so much.  with children, outcomes are better to assess over years and years, not twelve hours or even three back-to-back shifts.

(well, that was a wee tangent, but i think it relates....)

so, sometimes i need to remind myself of this, because i'm not the parent that sees my kids through rose-coloured glasses.  i don't see myself that way either, so it's fair at least! :)  i think that's okay.  realism is good.  it is what it is, right?  

so, we've had a precious little fella with us for awhile now, and it's been an adjustment for all of us.  so positive though, i have to say.  every single one of our kids, from oldest to youngest, is delightful to watch interact with this child.  they all have their own unique styles, some more rowdy and silly, other's more nurturing and sweet, but all effectively have developed little relationships with this baby.  they are the ones who were first able to illicit the all out "belly laugh" from this little person.  they play music he loves, they dance for him, they tickle him, they read to him, they bathe him, they feed him.  it is wonderful.  i'm so impressed with their care~ about his story, about his future, about his very real needs.  they pray for him often.  they love him "all out".  they are happy to step up as big siblings to a little guy who waits a bit longer for his future to be secure and stable.  i love their hearts for the vulnerable.  i love their giving spirits in this area, even though this has required them to step it up in small ways here and there around the house.  they aren't complaining, and that is also refreshing.  so, while they all give a bit more of themselves, they are getting so much too.  no question.  hopefully a lifelong commitment to care for the real needs of children and adults who find themselves in positions of needing care and loving support.  and the blessing of an enriched spirit by these sweet ones that cross their paths....that would be a worthwhile outcome.