Inhale...Exhale

Parents.  We all have them. Biological, step, in laws, adopted, grandparents, aunt, uncle... we were all raised by somebody. Not all of our family dynamics consisted of a mother and father. That’d most definitely be ideal, but it’s just not the case. So whoever raised you, my hope for you is that you were raised by someone who did the best they could. I hope you were loved. 

For me, growing up, it took a village. Literally. However my home base was with my biological mother. A single mother. A hard working mother. A mother who loved me with her whole heart and soul and did the best she could.  Yes, I spent time in day care. Yes I spent a lot of time with cousins, aunts and uncles. No, she wasn’t at home all the time giving me 24/7 attention. But honestly?  She didn’t need to be. I was safe and having fun with other family while she was doing what she needed to do to provide, not only for herself but for me. 

Fast forward into today’s world. Where stay at home moms have the great opportunity, and dare I say it, curse, of social media. We beat ourselves up over if we are doing enough and in turn, worrying about how our kids are going to turn out to be. We compare our children’s milestones and achievements to each other and stress out when our kids seem to not be at the same level as other kids we might see on social media. We worry about if we spend enough time or too much time entertaining our kids. We want the best for them and feel like we have to do it ALL. 

My beautiful friend Casey said it perfectly though, “we want to set our kids up to succeed.”  But that’s the thing. We need to remind ourselves that that success looks different for every single child.  That can seem overwhelming. But guess what?  We can pray to our Heavenly Father and ask Him for help; He knows our children; our children are His children. He knows them even more than we do, and He knows exactly what they need. So if we go to Him and plead for His help and grace He can help us to know what each of our children need, individually, to help them to succeed. 

I may not have had my mother around ALL the time, and when she was able to be home with me I didn’t get her constant undivided attention. I did, however, receive unconditional love from her. I knew, because she said it AND showed it all the time. I knew I could always talk to her, and I knew she was always going to be there for me no matter what. She built a confidence in me that I was LOVED. 

And guys, that’s really mostly what a child needs to know. So let’s let ourselves breathe a little more and just know you are who your child needs. Please know that Heavenly Father is there to help you!  Your children love you. They need to know you love them too.