Sunday 5/17/09

So today I was thinking that it's difficult to tell who a person really wants to be when you're busy looking at who they are. It stands to reason that any of us would be working to change or improve things about ourselves. Some things are obvious like getting a new hair style or starting an exercise program, but the tough changes are the changes that happen within. They can't be seen by the naked eye because they occur subtly over time.

This week I'm going to focus on looking at the people I come in contact with and try to determine what great qualities they have. I'm going to try and point them out so that they can see them too.

I'm going to miss this some day

My Dad tells me all the time that I'm going to miss these days when the kids are little. I'm going to wish I had them back. He will tell me this after I've cleaned up messes they left behind, flushed a toilet that for some reason they will forget to flush, found gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. So really, seriously, I'm going to miss this?

It occured to me that my Dad has an entirely different memory of my childhood than I do. It seems like he remembers the good things and not being knee deep in the problems/challenges of raising children. No parent ever says they want their worst day back, they don't ask to please re-live the embarassment, humiliation and frustration of parenting. They want the day back when their son brought in his first dandylion and proudly handed it to his Mom.

I envy my Dad the distance that he has to feel this way and oddly enough he envies me the place that I'm in right now.