Greg and I are so proud of our oldest. She keeps growing up in ways that we don’t explicitly teach her, ways that she just gets from being with us.
Like when we were at the theme park in Wisconsin. Greg and I were busy trying to keep the twins entertained and ensuring Evan wasn’t throwing up everywhere (he had a stomach bug a few days before, we were overly cautious for good reason). Arianna took matters of having fun into her own hands and made a new friend.
The girls played and played until the park closed down, running back and forth between all the rides in the (indoor) theme park then checking in with us every so often. Like, we didn’t have to tell her to make sure we knew where she was, she just did it. This filled up my mama heart with joy.
As moms, we often worry that we aren’t doing the right thing. We get anxious over wondering what someone is going to say because you are letting your kid run around an enclosed theme park and ride rides without you being there riding the bench to be sure everything was okay. We worry that we haven’t taught them to be kind. We worry that we aren’t doing enough.
But then one day, your kids will wake up and surprise the heck out of you just like mine did. She acted grown up but not disrespectful. She was kind and attentive, far less shy than I have come to expect. She blew me away with her attitude and energy that day.
And she gave me hope that the next generation will be able to see beyond the things that matter not at all and see the things that matter most. Love and kindness.
Thank you, Arianna, for making a new friend. Your Mama and Daddy are so proud.