FOR MY CHILDREN

When I was a kid I just couldn't wait to grow up. I wanted to be able to do as I please and make all my own decisions. Then one day I heard my parents discussing taxes and decided I was glad I was a kids so I didn't have to pay taxes and go to the poor house. As I got older and learned a bit more about taxes and the fact I would not really have to move to "the poor house", I once again decided I couldn't wait to be an adult. I was so tired of the adults in my life telling me what I could and could not do. Being an adult meant all the freedom in the world, I could do as I please, sleep till I wanted to get up, eat candy for dinner if I wanted too and for the life of me I never understood why I needed to graduate from high school. When was I ever going to need to know what order the presidents were in or where New Zealand was. This was freedom I yearned for and eventually I got it. I had got my life long dream, I was an adult. I could do as pleased when I pleased and with whom I pleased. This was going to be great, or so I thought.
First off I needed a job. I had to buy the candy I so desperately wanted to eat for dinner. And the clothes I thought magically appeared in my closet or the gas in my car and the insurance on it. Then there was this small need I had, a place to live. So the house payments began along with the gas and electric followed by the water and phone bills. Not far behind was furniture and linen, pot and pans and dishes and all the stuff I took for granted living with my parents. Then came the kids and all the things kids need and most of what they want.
So here I was an adult but now I could tell them what to do. Woohoo!! This was gonna be great. I was the adult in their lives and I could tell them what, when, how and who. So first things first, what was the best diapers, best formula, nicest clothes, education toys? Educational toys, what was I thinking, where did that come from?  Oh well, carry on. Best preschool, best teachers, well balanced meals (which meant no candy for dinner). Then it hit me, I want the best for my kids just like my parents wanted for me. I want them to be good people, to rely on them selves, to make smart choices, get a good education and treat others exactly how they wanted to be treated. To voice their opinions but do it with respect, don't do anything that you wouldn't be embarrassed to tell their parents about and to love just as we love them.
Sometimes no matter how hard we as parents try not all children accept the guidance we try to give them. We joke about making their lives miserable, but what we are really trying to do is save them from hurt, disappointments and heart ache. I don't personally know a parent who wants their children to learn from "the school of hard knocks", but sometimes it's inevitable. Try as hard as we can some are not as receptive as others. So all we can do is pray and hope some of the things we taught them as children have stuck somewhere in the back of their minds waiting for the right time to emerge.