On a richer childhood

We did not start this journey in the normal way.

We jumped in a bit closer to the deep end.

One of the things that caught me off guard was the pressure and weight of ensuring your child has every opportunity to learn any skill under the sun.

Before our boys even slept under our roof the questions came hard and fast - will they be joining this team? Will they participate in this activity?

Zach and I always had a dream of slower living. Of evening walks to the park.

This does not happen when practice is scheduled each night.

In the beginning our boys were eager to go and do. Still now if they had the choice they would often choose to see friends and leave home for another evening activity.

But now a year later we do hear it more, “Tonight can we play Uno?” “Zach, when can we play football at the park again?”

They have begun to see as well, a yes to something is a no to something else.

We are convinced that we ought to provide every opportunity, I know well the guilt of saying no to something I know they would enjoy.

But what do we desire our kiddos to be? Someone who’s tried it all? Or someone who knows how to live well?

One thing my husband often reminds me, William Booth’s son didn’t have every opportunity under the sun. No, he was raised alongside his dad and learned from a young age what horrors run rampant on the streets.

He watched and observed his dad loving people well all through his life.

Are we leaving the time to show our children what matters the very most in this life?

Or are we giving them a childhood that communicates that they are the center of their very own universe?

These are the questions I come back to. This is why the heart to heart conversations are needed.

The world will tell you what a good childhood looks like, but we have treasures that they do not know.

There is a richer childhood available to our kiddos, if we are willing to take them on a different road.