Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Midweek Pick Me Up

My next few pick me ups may come from a book written by Jane Clayson Johnson, called I Am A Mother. It's honest, uplifting, and well-written. It's written from an LDS perspective, so it includes Christlike principles to help you realize the importance of motherhood. This paragraph in the book struck me when I read it; I'll tell you why afterward.
"I'm willing to bet (no pun intended) that most of us don't remember what horse
won the Kentucky Derby three years ago, or who owned the horse. On the
other hand, I'm also willing to bet that your children can remember a trip to
the park, a favorite family story, a late-night talk after a first date, and
dozens of other things you have done each and every day as a mother."

When I was first married, I worked with a woman who told me that Santa didn't come to their house. Instead, they used all of the money they would have spent on gifts to take the family on a Christmas vacation every year. One year they went to Disneyland, one year they went to Hawaii, one year they went to a ski resort. She told me that her kids (who were married with kids of their own) loved the memories created from these vacations, and that they still talked about things that happened many years earlier. Besides some extra-special gift you may have pined for, can you remember what you got for Christmas every year? Now think: are there special memories or traditions that you remember and treasure from your childhood?

Create a memory. Start a tradition. Your kids will love you even more for it.

1 comment:

Deneal said...

I doubt my Christmas budget would add up to a trip to Hawaii, but I'm definitely liking the idea of exchanging commercialism for family traditions. This is a good wake-up call for me to think up some new ones today.

Oh, and along with the anticipated traditions, I think the unexpected events are just as memorable to kids. Yesterday we pulled a mattress into the front room to watch a new movie as a family and it was so fun. Of course there was plenty of jumping going on, but that's where the memories are at!