mother's day

It was Mother's Day yesterday here in the United States, and with a 6-year-old daughter I was blessed with crafts galore (and some nice new bedding plants for the yard).  Among the highlights were a questionnaire in which it was determined that I was 10 feet tall, my favorite thing to do is reading, and if I could go anywhere or do anything I wanted to do I would... go to the archives.  Here's hoping I can be 10 feet tall in her eyes for just a little while longer (although my 6 foot, 5 inch husband tells me she was somewhat chagrined when she then consulted him about his own height... "Uh oh... and you're taller than Mama.  Well, it was just a guess, you know.")  She also created the above painting and list of attributes.  I see our overflowing bookshelves have not gone unnoticed.  Well, that's life as a historian.  I am just glad it has rubbed off, as witnessed by the fact that my husband caught her sneaking her American Girls book under her covers after bedtime last night.

It's a little humbling to be on the receiving end of this adulation.  I'm sweet?  "Seriously?!" as the kid has recently taken to stating.  It doesn't always feel like I'm living up to the job or doing right by this small creature whom I adore like nothing else on the planet.  I am not, nor will I ever be, one of those people who goes all gooey at the sight of a baby or is pleased to put up with too many small people running amuck.  I am terrible about reading parenting guides.  I tolerate the kid's passion for tutus but she and I both know I'll never grasp the appeal.  I was nearly beside myself with joy when I discovered the (absolutely beautiful turquoise -- excuse me, "Caribbean sea") sandals she had her heart set upon were listed as gender-neutral and not girls'.  (And you better not tell her.)  In the midst of all this, however, I guess I must be doing okay.

Whew!

We are, each of us, created to fulfill the purpose God has planned for us.  That doesn't mean we'll fulfill it according to societal norms.  I have a long way to go on this parenting journey -- and on life in general, I hope -- but I suspect we do our work best when we are true to the people we are created to be.  I will never be the mom on the front of a parenting magazine, but I seem to be doing fine in my own way.  There is no one way to go about parenting or any other important process in life, and we'd do well to release ourselves from the pressure.

I really like the line in Psalm 25 (verse 4) that says "Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths."  Not society's paths.  Not the path we feel we're "supposed" to take, in parenting or anything else.  Not even a singular "path."  God has paths for us... ways for us.  That's a far more abundant vision.