My mom inspired me to start having children while I was still young, relatively speaking of course. My mom gave birth to me, her first child, when she was 24. I never appreciated having a young mother until I was in my late teens and early 20s and realized that not many daughters go shopping with their moms at The Gap.
She taught me that you can always afford to stay at home with your children if that’s truly what you want to do. My parents made a lot of financial sacrifices early on so that my mom could stay at home with us. I will always be thankful that I was a child who got to smell homemade cookies when coming home from school at 3:00.
My mom taught me that no matter what the whole family must sit down together every night for dinner. The only time we ever really wavered from this was when we got into high school and had extracurricular activities conflicts. But these instances are very few and far between. Even though a lot of our dinner table discussions were cheesy (“Let’s go around the table and say…”) it must mean something that I am even able to remember this.
And finally, my mom taught me the importance of having time away from your children. We were the type of kids who were always ecstatic when we heard that a babysitter was coming. This may be in part because the people my mom chose to sit for us were always so much fun. But in a college psychology class I learned that children who feel completely secure in their relationship with their parents have an easier time being cared for by someone else. When my mom would return from her night or weekend out, we all felt a breath of fresh air.
Happy birthday, mom! I love you!
She taught me that you can always afford to stay at home with your children if that’s truly what you want to do. My parents made a lot of financial sacrifices early on so that my mom could stay at home with us. I will always be thankful that I was a child who got to smell homemade cookies when coming home from school at 3:00.
My mom taught me that no matter what the whole family must sit down together every night for dinner. The only time we ever really wavered from this was when we got into high school and had extracurricular activities conflicts. But these instances are very few and far between. Even though a lot of our dinner table discussions were cheesy (“Let’s go around the table and say…”) it must mean something that I am even able to remember this.
And finally, my mom taught me the importance of having time away from your children. We were the type of kids who were always ecstatic when we heard that a babysitter was coming. This may be in part because the people my mom chose to sit for us were always so much fun. But in a college psychology class I learned that children who feel completely secure in their relationship with their parents have an easier time being cared for by someone else. When my mom would return from her night or weekend out, we all felt a breath of fresh air.
Happy birthday, mom! I love you!
Thank you Jenny for your beautiful words on my role as your mother. Perhaps the biggest reward for a parent is when their child comes full circle and begins to realize what it's all about. When they can see through their own parenting eyes how much and how important that child is to you, then you know you've done your job. None of it was ever a sacrifice for me, but more of my contribution to the world. All my love always Jenny,
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