Things I want to share with my kids

Over the years I have come to realize that as a mom some moments stand out for me more then others. Some moments speak to my heart and make it beat a little harder and a little faster.

Usually those moments are tied to my own childhood memories. 

I love watching my son play soccer and remembering how I felt when I played. I always wonder if he feels the same way. If he is taking it all in like I was and if he is committing it to memory like I did. I wonder if he is creating memories that he will one day want to share with his children, the same as I love sharing them with him. 

I love watching old Television shows and movies that I loved as a kid, with my kids. 

Shows like:

Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, Ninja Turtles, Robin Hood, The Jungle Book, Tarzan, The little Mermaid, Fraggle Rock, Tale Spins, Power Rangers (there, I admit it, after almost 20 years I can come out and say I did watch power rangers, and I GASP!!! liked it!) and much, much more.

I love to build forts with them, jump on the trampoline with them, make after school snacks and sit and talk to them about their day, help them with their homework, take them on walks, play board games, and build puzzles with them. These are all things that I loved about my childhood.

Its in these moments with them that I feel a connection so deep that I can't even quite explain it. It seems as though our spirits and souls are so deeply rooted together. I, for a small, moment know how they are feeling and understand the excitement that they are expressing to me, because I too have been there and felt the same thing. Its these moments that create the bonds between us. These moments I believe are so essential to the growth and development of their future selves. My own memories shaped me into all that I am. The feelings that I felt, the mistakes I learned from, the joys that I experienced, the things that I loved, these all made and continue to make me who I am. 

My heart soars when I see these same memories being made and feelings being felt by my children because its in those moments that I know I am doing something right. Amid all the teaching, disciplining, and correcting we do as parents on a daily basis we need to make sure there is MUCH, MUCH more loving, cherishing, sharing and connecting with them then anything else. I want my children's memories to be full of laughter and happiness and joy. I feel like these moments where they connect so deeply with something, whether it be a tv show or a book or a game or an activity, are the moments where the little future adults in them are being shaped and formed. 

Each kid is different. Each kid develops a love and connection with different things and when we can connect with them on something its like all the walls come down and we really know who they are. Its these moments where they find their passions that they are discovering who they are and we get glimpses into their future. 

I walked down the girl toy aisle one day shortly after I found out we were expecting our daughter and I cried. I seriously bawled as I stared at all the toys from my childhood.

 I stopped in front of a baby that went potty in her diaper and I remembered the Christmas where I got one just like it and I changed that dolls diaper a million times in the first day. I was so serious about being a mom that I was still asking for baby dolls the Christmas after I turned 13. (my love for them never went away, I just realized it was not cool to be a teenage girl playing with dolls.) 

I stopped at the barbie section and remembered all the "houses" I built and the clothes I made. I remember when I got my first brown haired, brown eyed barbie and how I finally felt a real connection to Barbie. 

I cried looking at all of these things because I realized that I was finally going to have a child to share this with. A child whose eyes would light up the same way mine did and who would pretend to be a princess all day, just because she could. Someone who would sing along to all the princess movies with me, and dream of finding her Prince Charming some day. Someone who would pretend to be Ariel, Snow White, Belle and Cinderella. Someone who would want every baby accessory under the sun. I would have a little girl who I could connect with on such a deep level and who I could share most of my childhood loves with.

Don't get me wrong, I ADORE my boys and I love having super heroes, pirates, spy's and secret agents in my house all the time. I love all the bugs that get brought home and all the boy shows we watch. I love that my 4 year old wants to grow up to be a daddy and loves to play with babies. I love that my 6 year old loves to build things and help me make things in the house. I love that my two year old loves to sing songs and twirl around and dance. I love playing with them and connecting with them on all those things, especially since I was a bit of a tomboy myself when I was a kid, and so there are lots of things we can connect with. I love the deep connection we form and I get giddy when one of them develops a love for something from my childhood that I too loved. And now I get to share the girly side of me, that deep girl connection with my daughter. I get the best of both worlds

I love this part of being a mom.

I love the deep bond and connection you feel.

Back when the television show Parenthood first aired, one of the brothers asked his older brother what makes all the crazy, nasty stuff of being a parent worth it? 

Crosby: What makes all of this worth it?
Adam: What makes it worth it is the connection, the bond you feel, their yours. You know, you're part of them.

It really is just that.

The connection and bond. It makes it all worth it. 

Every hard time.

Every painful time.

Every emotional draining time.

Its all worth it when we look into their eyes and we know them.

I am often blown away by my kids and who they are.

I look at them and think "Wow! you are a little person. You think for yourself. You know who you are and what you want. No matter who I want you to be, you are you! And I applaud you for that."

Its in these moments where I just want to squeeze them and tell them how proud of them I am, and how amazing I think they are. 

The connect and bond is so worth it. 

Its what its all about. 

Man, I sure do love being a mom.

There isn't a better gig in the whole world.