Only 25 short months separate the ages of the two high-spirited beings that I affectionately call my children.
Both born in the fall, the first wasn’t quite out of diapers before the second made his appearance and completed our family of four. I have raised these children for the past eight years of my life, and life with them hasn’t come without its share of challenges!
The first few years were really tough. I was just trying to keep these living creatures alive and breathing from one day to the next. But as they have gotten older, and a lot more self-sufficient, I have been able to relax a little and give them space, as well as gain some space of my own (though as I sit here in my bed writing this blog, I have one on my left speaking to Siri on his IPad, and one on my right smacking her gum).
But in giving them space, and also gaining my own free time, we sometimes lose our way, and we neglect to use time wisely and actually live life. I am so very guilty of sticking the kids in front of the TV to watch Nickelodeon and waste valuable brain cells, just so that I can read a book or take a nap or even have a long, hot shower. Our use of time is so misused that I feel we are really missing out on so much the world has to offer us during our short time on Earth.
Thus I am entering 2020 with wishes for my two babies, that they may actually experience the world and know how blessed they are in this life. I am setting goals for myself that I may help them to live out these wishes that I have for them.
- I want them to partake in less screen time, and be more present in life. I am so guilty of handing over the phone to amuse them while we wait for our meal at a restaurant. And also guilty, as I said earlier, of letting them watch way too much mindless television. But in 2020, I wish for them to actually be present in their lives and to take in their surroundings, and experience the world they live in. This is also a goal for myself, as I indulge in my phone and social media an exorbitant amount these days.
- I want them to learn more about their Christian faith and to actually participate in our church services. Sure, we go to church most Sundays, but I want them to actually know why we go to church, and to actually feel God working in their little lives. I want them to love church and realize the importance of their faith in Christ. Hence I’m setting participation in bedtime prayers as a goal for me- instead of just putting them to bed every night, my goal is to pray with them every night as well.
- I want them to experience and love the outdoors. I want them to spend less time inside and more time outside in God’s world. And I want them to cherish the fact that they are actually able to freely play outside, and see the sights and hear the beautiful sounds that we have been blessed within this world. My goal is to spend more time outside enjoying nature with my children.
- I want them to be and actually feel successful in school– to know that each of them is smart and talented and special in their own way. And for them to actually learn even more than what their teacher is showing them each day in class. My goal- to partake more in school activities, and in homework, and in reviewing their binders each evening.
- Lastly, I want them to realize how blessed they are in this life, and to, instead of mourning the things we don’t have, appreciate all the things we do own: our nice home, our working cars, the food we eat, and the clothes on our back. To realize that they are more fortunate than most of the children in this world and that being middle class is not a bad thing. They aren’t really missing out on life. My goal is to let them know how hard their father and I work to provide for them, but to also educate them on the degree of homelessness and poverty in the world, and to ensure that they will always be taken care of and loved more than they will ever know.
I sit here and set these goals for myself and think about these wishes for my children in 2020. I pray to God that I can achieve them. Like New Year’s Resolutions, these goals that I write down on paper may not be reached to the degree that I hope for. But at least I got them down. At least I have wishes for my babies for a better outlook on and experience of LIFE.
And so here’s to 2020, and these goals. May my wishes for my son and daughter come true.
