Shooting Stars

Sometimes I worry about the influences my daughters have in their life. They watch things on television, have different kids around them at school, hear things in songs on the radio, and of course they are influenced by me (the poor things). How do I know that the small amount of time that I have with them each day is being spent the right way? I am busy. They are busy. When they come home from school there is homework and chores, and before too long I have to begin supper preparations. I worry, and I know that a lot of other mothers have this worry too.

I don't want to take away television (I watched television when I was little, and I am okay, sort of.). I don't want to home school them because I would go insane and I want them to have social interaction with kids their age. (Not that I am saying anything negative about home schooling. I have great respect for parents who take on the responsibility of educating their kids.) I can control what they listen to on the radio, and I do for the most part. I can only listen to The Dirty Sock Funtime Band for so long before my ears start to bleed. As for my influence, I can only do my best and hope it is good enough.

Once in a blue moon, my daughters will do something that makes me feel like I am getting it right. Those are the days that every hard day feels worth the effort. I had one of those days yesterday. The girls decided not to watch their hour of television after school. Instead, they decided to play upstairs. I listened at the bottom of the stairs to make sure they were playing together and not excluding someone. The pretend game that they decided to play was "Library". They took turns being the librarian. They checked out books, and returned them on time. I felt so proud. We LOVE to read in our house. The kids deciding to play "Library" showed me that my husband and I are passing along our deep love of the written word.

We also watched the meteor shower last night. It was truly spectacular. The best part was getting to hear the astonishment in the girls' voices when they saw their first shooting stars. They didn't complain that they were cold or that they would rather be inside watching television. They laid next to me on the deck and giggled with glee at the light show.

Sometimes the best things in life are the little things. I would never trade the experience of hearing the girls play "Library" or being with them for their first meteor shower. Those are the little moments that I can hold in my heart for years to come. No matter where the girls go or what the future has in store for us I can pull those moments out and savor them. It is at those moments that I am truly blessed.