The First One for My Last One

It's been wiggly since Easter. This weekend provided the moment she had been waiting for. Her first lost tooth.

Can I say that it was surprisingly hard for me? Like a confirmation that my baby truly isn't a baby anymore. When the other children started losing teeth, somehow I took comfort in the thought that I still had a back-up. One more little face ... full of baby chompers ... to coddle.

Such a mix of pride, joy and a twinge of heartache to watch my children grow. I feel the oft talked about sense of wanting to freeze time so strongly. But it does remind me to appreciate what is in front of me ...

... and oh, there is such abundance.

To Rely Upon

 Lucette has been learning how to deal with friend challenges this year. A necessary, but difficult part of growing up. There has been plenty of talking, praying, strategizing. Successful attempts and failed efforts on the friend-front. It's been a challenge for both of us.

But what I came to realize, for myself, was I couldn't fix any of it for her. Our talking creates open communication and bonding between the two of us. It doesn't necessarily create solutions. And that is okay. Our relationship, our security together, is far more important than any 8 year-old friendship. It just is. And so we talk. And we cry. And we hug. And we smile at each other. And we pray together.

Lucette, I tell her. We will pray. God knows. God allows. God instructs. God loves. You get to learn to take these issues to Him. Develop your own faith walk and prayer life. And I get to stand beside you and pray right along, every step of the way.

This afternoon, while emptying out her lunch bag, she says to me, "Mom, you know these friend problems I've been having? Well, I've realized something. They make me rely on you more." She throws out her trash, puts away her lunch bag, and looks at me. "I love you, Mom."

My heart melts. And I am so grateful. And as she learns to rely on me, I get to point her to the One that is always reliable. What a gift.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 

I John 4:16

Parenting: Keeping the Oar In

 Ever get the feeling that your parenting years are rushing by?

 I've been feeling that lately. As though there is a sense of urgency to pull myself out of my habitual complacency and stick my oar back in the waters. It's so easy to just float and let life move us down the stream. Whether I like it or not, our boat is moving. Life is rushing forward ... it's a beautiful ride, but there are plenty of rocks to run into.

Is my oar in or is my oar out?

Time to reexamine some of my own issues and habits and tidy up a bit. Time to refocus my prayers for my children and dig purposefully into the Word. Can you relate?

What is some of the best biblical parenting advice you've ever received?

The words of the mouth are deep waters,
   but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream. 

Proverbs 18:4

The Merits of Boredom

While we have certainly had our share of day camps and lessons, I am a big proponent of facilitating summer boredom. For you see, in my experience, it's the unstructured expanses of time that invariably lead to the stuff childhood memories are made of.

They may start off rolling on the floor saying they are bored. But when mother is completely lacking in sympathy, a clothes-line is strung, buckets of soapy water appear, and the washing commences. Not to mention the tent held up by a stick and secured by boulders. (It's for the town mercantile, naturally.)

What's more, mother may be instructed to go away and not return until they are done. Ignore the children for a morning? Well, I'd be happy to oblige.

It's a win-win.

Brain-Powered Curiosity

Ever since the children were babies, we've had a loose "no batteries" rule. What does this mean? That by and large, we want them to provide the juice that powers the play.

Now, do they ever watch movies? We love our DVD player and the controllable entertainment options it provides. Robin Hood, Andy Griffith, Princess Bride, and Swiss Family Robinson are in current high-rotation. Do they ever play video games? Well, not much, but Carmen SanDiego, Typing Instructor, and Tetris-esque games are known to entrance the children (setting the kitchen timer is a must!). Do they have any motorized toys? Yes, we love the remote-controlled airplane Peter received for his birthday last year.

So you see, it's a "loose" rule. But the effort to steer the children towards interactive, kid-powered play has really paid off for us. They will build a city out of blocks, read mounds of books, piece together puzzles, sail on zip-lines and rope swings, bake cookies, learn to draw unicorns, dig holes that could swallow a grown man, kick balls, ride bikes, launch rockets that threaten the federal air-space laws, and just be plain ol' curious.

If you ask me, childhood curiosity is a beautiful thing.