A Recipe For Rearing Happy Children
A Katy mom shares her experiences in motherhood
March 26, 2010 – Katy, Texas – Sitting at the kitchen table, I mulled over possible meals for the week. I flipped through the pages of a cookbook and read through various recipes as I started on my shopping list. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked at my youngest child, Braden, as he began to describe in detail a building he had just made out of blocks. He tugged at my arm pleading for me to go and admire his creation. Dropping my pen by my cookbooks, I ran with him up the stairs to inspect his work. He anxiously awaited my reaction to his masterpiece. His building was indeed impressive and I told him exactly how amazed I was at his engineering skills. He smiled, gave me a hug and resumed his work.
I walked down the stairs and continued my list. Within seconds, my oldest child, Brandon, walked to the table and asked if I would help him plan his school schedule for the following year. He excitedly spoke of the many courses that were available at Seven Lakes High School. I looked at the class descriptions and for the next half an hour we planned his perfect schedule. With a grin, he left the kitchen to commence another activity.
Hm…I thought…soup sounds good for Wednesday. “Mom?†I heard a voice call. It was my daughter, Melissa. “I need you to help me with my math. Do you know what the formula is to find the area of a circle?” I smiled since I did remember this particular formula.
“It is Pi R Squared.” I replied. She looked at me with admiration and asked if I would watch her work out the next few problems. As she successfully completed her work, she thanked me and left the kitchen.
The children love pizza. Perhaps we can make home-made pizza Friday night. “Mom! Come out to the trampoline!” My son, Bryan, breathlessly exclaimed. “I want to show you my back-flip. You won’t believe it!” He reached for my hand and began to pull me to the back door.
As I watched Bryan jump contentedly on the trampoline, a mental picture came to mind. I pictured my children continually in orbit around me. At this point in their lives anyway, I was the gravitas pull that gave them bearing. Â As I thought about this image, I marveled at how important it was for me, as their mother, to provide consistent support and stability to each one of them.
Though I had been working on a meal recipe list, I felt as though I had stumbled upon a more significant recipe…a recipe for rearing happy children. And, I realized that the recipe started with me. I suppose I have my work cut out for me! What are some ways in which you show love and support to your children? Post a comment below.
