Things my kids have taught me

     I was thinking today about how much Tim and I have grown since we met, both in number and as people. I was sixteen when we met, still in high school, and had alot of growing to do. Today we are a family of 5 and I credit alot of our growth to our children. So I wanted to mention a few things that my kids have taught me:


     1. Patience - I am probably still the most impatient person in the universe but before my children came along it was worse. When Sophia began entering the toddler phase I was totally unprepared for what that entailed. Everything she did drove me crazy. I spent more time trying to stop her from making a mess than I did embracing her curiousity. For that I feel lots of mommy guilt but now that I understand childhood curiosity the other girls will pass through toddlerhood with a more mellow mommy. Today I am able to watch Alyssa spill dish water all over the kitchen floor and not panic.
     2. Self Control - Children are unable to control themselves at times. A major part of parenting is helping children learn to control both thier actions and emotions. In order to encourage another person to control thier emotions you have to be in control of your own. This has been a major struggle for me because my own childish impulses can easily get the better of me, the worst of all my anger.  I still have days where being tired and burnt out cause me to yell all day long. While there is much room for growth, I feel like there has been some growth in this department.
     3. Responisbility - Before children I never felt a huge sense of responsibility. I would drop out of classes on a whim, quit a job for no real reason, spend money freely, etc... As soon as I found out I was going to be a parent I started to envision the life I wanted for my kids and the most fundamental thing I visioned was consistency from me. I wanted to be there for them and provide the things they needed every single time. This required me, 23 at the time, to start thinking more like an adult and less like a child. Something I found about being more responsible and less flaky was that I am more comfortable with myself. For the first time in my life I feel like I know who I am and I am happy with that person.
     4. How to have fun - There is no better sound in the world than Sophia and Alyssa making each other laugh. I can be such a fuddy duddy at times but the girls are constantly reminding me that life is supposed to be fun. I try to loosen up and join in any time I'm invited to play. After all the house will always be a mess, we have three kids, but the girls won't always be this small. There is something magical about being a child.  So, at least once every day I try to rub a little of that magic on to me by entering the girls world.


And here are these little monsters that have changed my life so much. Aren't they beautiful?