Back to Basics

This evening I had one of those thrilling moments that every parent craves. I've been working on reading with my 5-year old daughter and she is just loving it. We're into more complex paragraph books now (ARI2 of the I See Sam follow ups) and as she was reading, the story was making her laugh so hard she could hardly continue. After we finished, she re-read the book silently and cracked herself up all over again.

Reading is fundamental. What a great experience it is as a mom to know that I've contributed so substantially to the life of my sweet girl, effortlessly teaching her to read and to love reading. I am so proud of our work together and that we didn't leave it up to the schools to teach something so important. It takes commitment and consistency, but has truly been nothing but enjoyable.

As I put her to bed tonight, I started thinking of the other things that I consider so critical that I provide for both my kids; commitments that I have taken on as a parent but have largely left unstructured and unsaid. I'm sure the list is incomplete here, but this will give me something to reference as I formalize it in writing as a way to reaffirm my commitment as well as share with John.

As a parent, I am committed to providing:

• Unconditional love
• Instilling a love of self and respect of others
• A nurturing of spiritual awareness
• A safe, nurturing and loving home
• A strong family structure that nurtures close relationships with family
• Access to a great education
• Exposure to a variety of activities that allow them to discover themselves, what they are capable of and what they love
• A solid foundation of practical life skills (such as reading)
• A practical foundation of spiritual skills (such as appreciation, the creative process, prayer, "trusting their gut")
• An unwavering belief in their wellbeing
• Consistent visualization of that wellbeing

I'm sure there's much more, but quiet time calls...