Things My Parents Taught Me

Looking back over my growing up years, I think I can safely say that my brothers and I were neither trend setters nor amazing trend followers, for that matter. We weren't the most popular kids in our class, neither were we the outcasts. We weren't bullied, and neither were we bullies to any of the other kids.

Maybe it was because we didn't have a t.v. for most of my growing up years, or maybe it was because we didn't know any better - but whatever the reasons, I don't ever remember caring about the clothes I wore, or the fact that our family didn't go to Disney Land over April break when so many other families did. I never felt concerned about my weight, or tried to get my importance from a boy; and I never felt the need to run for prom queen. None of that was ever even on my radar.

Maybe, just maybe, my parents did it right.
Our life was simple.

I remember being home for dinner most evenings as an entire family. I remember family camping and canoeing trips over Memorial Day week-end, and I remember my brothers getting out of work early from our local dairy farm to drive their beater truck with its homemade smokestacks over to my soccer games to watch the last half.

As a family we enjoyed being together, and my brothers and I were friends. We enjoyed family time, and we had some rockin', dirt cheap, family vacations. Our parents didn't push us to be involved in anything, but supported whatever we wanted to do just as long as we tried our hardest. We weeded the garden, we piled the wood, and we mowed the lawn. There were no allowances - it was just what we did as members of the family. My parents lived simply, didn't care about what the going trends were or what the Jones' were doing. They worked hard, were well respected, knew their neighbors, had an open door policy, and just lived it out the best that they knew how. They walked with the Lord, they had relationship with us, and they chose very carefully what mountains they would die on.

I'm pretty sure they did it right.
And that's what I'm trying to replicate.

I don't care to be a trend setter or a trend follower - and I don't really care for my boys to be, either. I don't buy the idea that we need to have certain things or do certain activities to be well rounded citizens of society. If there's something that my kids want to participate in - music, sports, extra-curricular activities - I'll be all for it. I'll support them in their pursuits. But we'll weigh everything. I'm not going to do something just for the sake of doing it. I want my kids to be well rounded. But, I'm honestly not really worried about what the going trend at the moment is. Maybe it's the inner rebel in me, but I don't care if everybody is doing something but us. And I'm also not overly concerned if we're the only ones doing something while everybody else is doing something else.

We're just going to try our hardest to live it out the way the Lord wants us to, and be concerned with that only. I want that simple life. I want our boys to be hard workers, and I want them to be kind to everyone - the most popular and the underdog alike. I don't care if they are athletes, and I don't care if they're top of their class. I want them to try their hardest. I want them to be honest. And I want them to know that we're proud of them and will love them no matter what.

Simple is good.
Different is okay.

Things my parents taught me...
The longer I'm a parent, the more I love and respect my own.

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1082. Long week-end spent with my own Mama.
1086. Movie marathons and popcorn.
1089. Staying up late, laughing, and sharing stories.
1102. Journeying 1,000 Gifts with Mom.
1108. Gleaning wisdom, learning what's truly important, being reminded again.
1109. Redemption for her - my desire to replicate my own childhood.
1110. HER mothering.
1123. Mutual blessing and encouragement.
1138. Time well spent.
1160. A happy, healthy childhood.