Or is it atypical?
I’ve heard it many times over the past 6 years. I even remember the first time someone said it to me. She stopped by to drop something off for Zeke’s sip & see and I asked her if she wanted to meet him. After adoring him for a few minutes, she turned to me and said, “He is so lucky to have you.” I was taken back a bit and really didn’t know what to say. I smiled and said, “Thank you,” but the fact is, I don’t know what to say even now when I hear those words. Lucky. Him. Because of us.
Our daughter has a cell phone. And not a dumb phone. A real phone we bought for her when she was 12. From all the debate in social media world about whether or not kids should have cell phones, and most of that landing on the firm belief that no, kids should definitely not have cell phones if you’re actually an intelligent and engaged parent, that might be surprising. Unless you don’t believe we’re intelligent or engaged, but I guess we’ll have to take that up at another time. She has a phone and I’m glad she does.
I don’t celebrate enough. Some people are really good at celebrations. They see the little things in life for what they are; bits of beauty we are given to enjoy. They see the big achievements as icing on the proverbial cake, and they celebrate both, along with every bit in between. Me? I’m more of a realist. I take life as it comes, the good, bad & really bad, and keep on keepin’ on, knowing that God holds it all under his plan and his timing. But truthfully, that is a bit pragmatic, even if I don’t intend it to be that way. Perhaps that makes me boring. I’m not sure I care about whether or not I’m boring, but I do care about whether or not I celebrate what God has done and is doing. So, this post is about seeing how far we’ve come, even if there is far to go. It’s about applauding hard work, but more so, about God’s grace in that work even being possible. It’s about Little Mister and where he is, compared to where he’s been.
I previously wrote about how many apologies really aren’t apologies at all. They solve nothing and they bring discord rather than unity. But some apologies are also not necessary, nor should they ever be given. Some apologies are sought by others for their own selfish gain or blindness to their own sin, and to give them is to feed that sin. So, here is a short list of unnecessary apologies I want my kids to know and live by as they navigate relationships in a very confusing world.
Parenting. I should just stop right there. If you have kids of any age, you know exactly what I’m going to say next. It’s exhausting. And often times, complex and perplexing. Sometimes I long for the days of Dr. Spock, when there was one way to rear your kids, but then I remember there actually is one way and it’s called the Bible. And then I also recall I threw away all the baby and parenting books I once owned when I realized my kids didn’t fit into that mold. Or maybe I didn’t. Whichever. So, now that I’m completely off topic and you’re reminded of just how hard raising people can be, let’s talk about one of the most exhausting areas of parenting: teaching your kids how to be sorry for what they have done wrong. Instead of, well, not sorry.