5 Wishes For My Babies on Mother's Day

Mother's Day is the perfect time to reflect on the past and look forward with hope & excitement...for ourselves as mothers, and for our children. 

Okay...mostly for our children.

Will they be happy?

Will they be healthy?

How am I doing as their mother?

Will they play sports or be in theater, or both?

Will they be philosophical, logical, spiritual?

Who will they become?

Where will life take them?

Can I park my RV in their driveway every winter? 

• • • • • • • • • • •

It's both heartwarming and exciting, but oh so scary to think of my children growing up and leaving the nest.

I think of ways to encourage my children to be the best versions of themselves, and I find myself coming back to these five wishes for them...plus a quote for each, because, well, who doesn't love quotes!

1. Make mistakes.

The mistakes you make in life and how you react to them pave the path of your individual journey. Acknowledge, accept, and trudge ahead! Try new foods. Travel. Love, lose, and love again. Grow & learn.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein 

2. Make (and keep) a best friend.

Life is so much fun when you have a kindred spirit with whom to share it. Find someone who will tell you when you have food in your teeth & who will be your biggest fan. 

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” -Elbert Hubbard

3. Know your worth.

I admit, this is the most difficult wish for me to teach you. To know your own worth is to be confident in your successes AND failures. It means knowing yourself, loving yourself, and BEING yourself. As my Grandpa Barney would always say, 'Never let anyone do your thinkin' for you.'  

“Know your worth, hold your own power, be you.” -Morgan Harper Nichols

4. Be kind.

In life, it is SO much easier to simply be kind to people.  Darker days can always be brightened with an act of kindness. Let someone go ahead of you in line. Text a struggling friend. Call your mother. Smile at a stranger.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -Philo 

5. Know that you are always home when you are with me.

I support your journey, no matter what roads, mountains, and valleys you travel. You will always be my baby, no matter how old you are. I will always leave money in your car for you. Daddy and I? We will always be your home.

"Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life." -Sophocles 

• • • • • • • • • • •

As I focus on the changing season and how I can do the best by my babies, I want to accomplish so many things with them. But at the end of the day, listening to their stories & showing them how to be a good person is what really counts.

Have you ever made a list of what you want to teach your children? What wishes do you have for them?