Wednesday Wishes - To my kids

I wrote this post and then put the photos in and when I went back to proofread it and I took a second to look at this picture I got that big sappy mom feeling of super power love when I looked into their 3 very different but very similar little faces. They are such great little mixtures of Jim and I in their looks and their personalities. I truly enjoy watching them grow up and am so happy that I will always have this blog to look back on for what I was thinking and what I wished for them back when they were 1, 5 and 8 years old.

My biggest wish in life is to raise my kids into responsible and genuinely nice adults. I truly want them to be the kind of people that I choose to now surround myself with. I want them to be supportive and reliable people who can be there for their friends and family when they are needed and to lend a helping hand or ear when they see the need. I want them to do what they say they are going to do when they say they are going to do it! I want them to love their friends kids like their own and to foster good relationships with those around them. I want them to be positive people who focus on the good in life rather than the bad (which we all know there is lots of in life).

I want them to be successful and to work hard at whatever they choose to do with their lives. I don't care if they choose a career that I think isn't right for them, as long as they do their best at it then I will be happy. I hope to raise them to think and do for themselves without relying on me or their dad to do things for them that they can and should do for themselves. Working at VIU it astounds me how many moms call in for their kids to make appointments with advisers or fill out their application forms for them. These are all things that I truly believe that teenagers should be doing for themselves! I certainly did when I was growing up. I had a job at 15 and often worked 2 nights per week and both days of the weekend. It taught me about responsibility (and gave me a love for McDonalds food!) and working hard and I want that for my kids (maybe not the love of McDonalds though!).

In thinking about this post for the past few days I've been thinking of specific things that I wish for each of my kids individually that reflect on who they are and who I want them to become in the future. Here are my top three wishes for each of them.

James

(1) I wish for you to take the time to slow down sometimes and learn to listen more and talk less. You come by this trait honestly as I was you as a kid. I struggled to listen and always wanted to be heard. In some aspects of my life this has served me very well, but in others it's made my life far harder than it needed to be. This is a skill that you will learn over the years and I try to have patience and remind myself that you are still young and learning when it is appropriate to talk and when it is best to just listen and take in the world around you. You may be a big 8 year old boy physically and intellectually, but emotionally and socially you are often much younger than that...and that's okay too! I'm not in a rush for you to grow up, I'm just hoping that with some more guidance you will be able to grow into the amazing young man that I know you are destined to become.

(2) I wish for you to keep loving sports like you do, but maybe pick 1 or 2 that you truly want to excel in and practice really hard to get really good at them. If it's going to be hockey then I want you to skate like someone is chasing you on the ice and never stop until the practice or game is over. If it's karate I want you to work really hard at focusing on the things you are being taught and try hard to ignore the kids around you. If it's baseball then I want you to spend all year bugging your dad and I to take you to the fields to practice your pitching, hitting and throwing so that when baseball season hits each year you are ready to shine.

(3) I wish for you to keep learning and keep reading lots. You are an exceptional little boy that has a real love for learning new things. Your math skills blow me away all the time and I hope that that love keeps growing year by year. I can't wait to see what path you end up taking in life! Will you be a lawyer (you do love to argue)? Will you be a pro athlete (it's your biggest dream in life)? Will you be an engineer or accountant (your love and affinity for numbers makes me believe this could happen!)?

Jordie

(1) I wish for you to keep your sweet and loving demeanor forever. I hope you always tell me how much you love me just like you do right now. Since my return to work 6 weeks ago and your imminent start to Kindergarten you have become a lot more demonstrative with your love and I think it's very sweet. You tell me every day multiple times a day how much you love me, and the past two days you've told me I'm the prettiest mom in the whole world. I have always said that you do everything big in your life. You love big, you get angry big, and you smile and laugh the biggest of all.

(2) I wish for you to always keep your great little sense of humor. You are a really funny little character that loves to make people laugh. You love to tell jokes (even if you make them up and they don't make sense at all!) and you love to make your sister giggle more than anything else in the world. You will do anything to get her to laugh and when she does you instantly break out into the biggest and proudest little grin that just warms my heart. The bond you have with your sister is incredible for me to see and I hope that you always remember how much you love her, even when she is being a pest. I hope you always will be her protector.

(3) I wish for you that as you navigate the new big world of your school years that you keep being the wonderful little boy that you are. Remember to be kind to your friends, keep your hands to yourself, always be polite and use your manners, and most of all to have fun and enjoy learning new things. I can't wait to see your new path begin in elementary school and I can't wait to see how this next year in your life is for you and for all of us. It's always a big change when a kid starts school and I am so very excited for your journey to begin, but I will miss you at the same time too.

Kennedy

(1) I wish for you sweet girl to always know that you can do anything in the world that you set your mind to. You can be anything in the world that you want to, even if society tries to tell you otherwise. I chose a very female centered profession in administration, but I hope you do what truly makes you happy. I hope you always challenge yourself to be the best you that you can be in everything that you do, whether that's sports, school or your high school job (which you will get because I'm a firm believer in kids learning responsibility early on!)

(2) I wish for you that you grow up to be a sweet and kind little girl. One that stands up to bullies and tells them how wrong they are for treating people badly. I hope that you choose your friends wisely and find some best friends that will last your whole life. I hope that you spend your teen years working hard and spending time with your friends, instead of worrying about impressing the cute boy that sits next to you in math class. Boys are good and all, but wait until they are a little bit more grown up before you spend too much time worrying about them.

(3) I wish for you that you always feel pretty, even if you end up in the awkward teen years with braces (which I had) or acne (which your dad had). I promise you I will always make sure to tell you how beautiful you are on the inside and the out and I hope those are the words you hear in your head rather than the ones that you will inevitably hear from some mean girls in the halls of high school at some point. It's sad that I already know when you are 1 year old that this is something you will most likely have to deal with, but I also know that I will work damn hard to make sure that my words are the ones that stick and will teach you to try your best to let other's words roll off your shoulder. I want you to focus on becoming the amazing girl that I know you are destined to become. I think you are going to be a perfect little mixture of me and your dad, and of your two brothers too. I think you will be talkative like me, helpful like your dad, smart like James and funny like Jordie. I can't wait to see what your toddler years bring to our already really dynamic family!

So...there you have it! My 3 wishes for each of my munchkins. I really liked writing this post and I hope to write more like this in the future.