For Example

Papaya--a long time ago. Probably age 6?


I read something this week that really got me thinking. And I'm bummed because I didn't write it down, but here's the jist of it:

"Some of us are expecting our children to grow up to be respectable citizens ... without ever showing our children what a respectable citizen LOOKS LIKE."

BOOM!
 
In other words, unless we are SHOWING our children HOW to be a "good human being" on Planet E., then we can't expect them to KNOW how to be a good human being on Planet E.

 BOOM!

I know, profound, right?

It's not that I had never thought of this before, but I think I needed to be reminded. Big time.

Because if Dave and I can't show our children HOW to treat people kindly, how to care for living creatures (including themselves), how to work hard, how to bounce back after failure or disappointment ... how to ENJOY life, etc., then how in the world do we expect them to do it themselves?

It all sounds so simple: MONKEY SEE; MONKEY DO.

Right?

So, that's what I'm trying to be more aware of in my life right now: 

How well am I modeling the behavior I want our own kids to demonstrate?

Hmmm.

It's a complex question. 

And depending on the day, weather, my fat-intake, the results vary (widely).

But, I think I'm kind of getting it--as in, IT. All caps.

--Dave and I want our kids to be givers--not takers. 

--We want them to learn to love all people.

--And we want them to find peace and fulfillment in their lives (JOY).

So we just need to find the right (sensible, plausible, humane) way to demonstrate those traits/behaviors to our kiddos.

See, it's easy-peasy!

Check in next week. I'm sure I'll have it all figured out.

Ha!

Have a great weekend. We're hoping to hit a corn maze. Because, um, we want our kids to learn how to handle having the crap scared out of them?

Eeek!

Our walk yesterday. October rocks in Utah. (Most years.)

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