When I think about what I want for my kids it’s pretty simple to sum it up in a few words. I want them to be safe, happy and healthy. That’s what I pray for them every night. Three little words.
I want them to stay safe.
There are things I can’t control like tragic accidents and bad people in the world. For those, I pray. Safe. Please keep them safe. But I’ll also be their safety net. Kids make bad choices occasionally. Their developing brains do not always understand the consequences of their actions. I pray that their choices don’t cause them harm. And that when given the choice between a bad decision and a good one, if they make the bad one, they know they can always count on me to be there. I might not be happy about picking them up in the middle of the night from a place they weren’t supposed to be, but I’d take that 100 times over than the alternative of them getting in an unsafe car to get home.
I want them to be happy.
I want them to see silver linings and to realize life goes by too fast to get hung up on things you can’t change. I hope they learn to feel joy in the little things, to realize that they’re all little things. In hindsight, they’ll see that the things that held them back were never really obstacles, it was just perception. I want them to recognize our family as a source of laughter. A place of comfort and making sure they know no matter what they find out in the world, there’s always love in here.
