Goals

Before I had kids, if anyone had told me how totally different each sibling would be, I would have thought they were exaggerating. Being the parent of two girls and a boy who are as different as night and day...and night again...I can totally stand behind that statement. Enter Oldest Child.

Oldest Child is very much her mother's child. I can see so much of myself in her. Only instead of squelching her creativity/individuality, we encourage it. She decides what she wants, what it will take to achieve it, and goes for it. The day she walked through the doors as a freshman at High School, she wanted to go to the prom as a freshman. She started talking about it in AUGUST people! I let her talk...and dream...and scheme...until oh about late February/early March. Then she started getting serious, and so did we.

She is involved in a church with a very active youth group. A guy from the youth group is a senior and needed a prom date. Oldest Child is a freshman and needed a date. We know him, we know his parents, we know Who and what he stands for...perfect match. DH and I felt safe with him, knew he would show OC a good time, and we, as her parents, wouldn't have to worry about letting our baby go to the prom. There comes a time when you have to sit back, pray, and trust that everything you have spent the past fifteen years telling her has sunk in.

It was a perfect night. The day went very smoothly. Youngest Child was occupied with a friend all day, out having fun. The day was totally devoted to OC...the way she wishes every day would be. Her wish was my command. M, OC's best friend, spent the day with us keeping us both calm. And from the time she woke up yesterday morning until sometime yesterday afternoon, my baby, my firstborn, my goal-oriented child turned into a princess.

Recalculating

“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) What an appropriate verse for today. Haven't been blogging about the WVU/MSU football game; haven't posted pictures of us at the GT game; haven't caught you up on the latest middle school dance team drama; haven't writting a blog in awhile. I received a call on Tuesday evening that my dad was in critical condition in the hospital in VA. Everything else takes backseat when you receive a phone call like that.

Unfortunately, my dad didn't make it through this illness; he passed away Wednesday afternoon after a long illness. So instead of all the plans I had for the weekend, everything in my world was recalculated, we traveled to WV for the memorial service, and now we're home. When I read this Bible verse, I thought about all the phone calls and e-mails I've received in the past week.

Everyone wants to do something to help. It took me so long to be able to say, "yes". It took me a long time to be able to accept the help that others are offering. It is not a sign of weakness; it is not a sign of need. It is a sign that if the tables were turned, I'd be the one who wanted to help. So when a neighbor called and said she wanted to bring dinner tonight, instead of telling her I was fine and she didn't need to do that, I simply said, "thank you" and "that's nice". She and her husband even joined us for dinner and we had a great time.

I'm sure there will be many examples of that in the days ahead; so I will receive when it is my turn to receive. By doing that, I will be ready to give back when the time comes.