Thursday, April 3, 2008
Ensign article for moms
In this month's Ensign there is an article called "The Joy of Nurturing Children". I have only read the first mom's account ("The Gift of Memories"), but was touched by it. I like to enrich my child's life with outings and activities (I'm better at it some days than others). This article gave me extra motivation to fill her life with fun and uplifting experiences. It also made me feel like my efforts were not in vain. I know she is too young to remember the fun things we do right now, but it's great to be in the habit of doing it and to think that it will positively influence her entire life. To paraphrase one quote, Don't think about the messes, think about the memories.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I enjoyed that article. Especially the part you quoted about memories, not messes.
I'll have to go read that article right now! It definitely sounds like my parenting style, although I'm with you Linz, better at it some days than others. I've always remembered something a woman I used to baby-sit for told me. She remembers one time that her Mom sat down and played with playdough with her. It's the only time she remembers her mom actually playing with her, because she was usually so busy cooking, cleaning, etc. Because of that, she always made a special effort to play on the floor with her kids, every day. I try to do the same thing now. I don't think I'll look back on my life some day and wish I had spent more time doing dishes! But I think I'll have regrets if I don't play with my children, and have lots of memories of doing special things with them!
p.s. I haven't read the article yet, so sorry if that wasn't quite on topic!
Steph--thanks for sharing that. That hits home to me as I love to have my sink empty of dirty dishes and I cook every night. More time on the floor!
I also loved that article, Linz! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a clean house, but some days it is just more fun to make a mess. My mom always says there is never enough time to play while the kids are young. She also reminds me that furniture/decorations that are not child-friendly will never really have a place in our homes as long as we are family-oriented. There will always be children or grandchildren to get into things, so don't waste money on things that aren't made for kids.
I loved that article. I read it and totally cried (I'm pregnant, so the hormones are kinda there as I'm sure you all know)...but I'm just so thankful for every day that I get to spend with my sweet baby and I need to always remember to look past the minor setbacks like messes and waking up early...and remember what a blessing it is to be a mother! It reminds me of the poem:
"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow, For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."
It's so true!
I'm on of Claire's friends and have been lurking on this blog for a while. I loved this article in the Ensign. I have made it a goal for myself to turn off my computer more during the day and just play. Also to spend an hour during the day doing cleaning and then do the rest at night when my daughter is asleep. It does make for a very long day some days but I think it's a good habit to get into now with only one kid.
Post a Comment