This weekend, we're in Salt Lake. I discovered that Lezlie and I cannot go to the mall together if we want happy husbands and money in our bank accounts. But I did find the perfect dress and shoes at Dillard's to wear at Marlo and Ty's wedding.
We took the kids up to Donut Falls for a short hike. In all the years I lived in Salt Lake, I really didn't take advantage of the beautiful hiking trails. It was wonderful to smell the pines and feel the coolness of the stream as we hiked. Sadly, I did not climb all the way up to the falls. That was a mistake I will not make again!
After the hike, it was good to get into the pool and play around. I won the cannonball contest.
Dinner was at a little Mediterranean restaurant on 33rd South, Cafe Med. It was delicious. As part of our ongoing efforts to teach our kids that there are foods out there much more delicious than taquitos from Costco and Lipton noodle soup, we had everyone try hummus, kabobs and baklava. These are foods that I first tried when I was in grade school, but for a moment, you'd think that we were asking them to eat pickled eyeballs or monkey brains. Once they got up the courage to try it, they were pleasantly surprised. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad for having us try a wide range of foods throughout our lives, and especially Mom for being such a great cook and encouraging us to eat healthily.
It's been hard to really figure out my role as "mom" in J, K and M's lives. I'm coming into it when they're at the developmental stage when kids are starting to pull away from parents. I had a different upbringing and different opportunities than their other parents, so there are things that I would like to give them the opportunity to do, or encourage them to have the desire to do.
I look back on my life and see how I limited myself (and sometimes still limit myself) by my fears, lack of understanding of the world and others, and a lack of faith and testimony. My parents did all they could, but there were things about me that they couldn't change. I had to grow and want to change them myself. It bugs me when I see the kids being timid, and I worry that they are limiting themselves and missing out on really feeling joy in their lives.
We are hoping that we can make some changes within the next year that will bring us closer to the kids, physically and in my case, emotionally. I need to be around them more and get to understand and love them for who they are, not for who I think they should be.
5 comments:
you are a wise, wise woman! I think it's great that you are exposing them to new things... they'll remember that. you're fantastic at creating adventures and memories all around you!
You will make a positive mark on their lives, I'm sure. I wish I good tell them what a gift they have in you!
Oh, I think all three of us know how lucky we are. Thank you very much Diane. :)
Sounds like you all had a great time. And Diane, I am still trying to figure out how to be a mom to my kids. By the time I really figure it out, well, let's just say they will probably having these discussions with me! We all just do the best we can. Love you all! Oh and by the way, there is nothing wrong with costco taquitos! They're great!
Good for you for exposing them to new and exciting things! I don't want to inhibit my children either so I strive to do just what you are doing. I have to "fake it" a lot to overcome MY inhibitions when it comes to venturing out into new territory and new groups of people. I'm a pretty shy person until I get to know someone or something well. My goal is to not let my children see that it's scary for me to talk in front of groups, or venture into a new gym where there is new equipment and snotty people staring down their noses at you while you fumble around getting to know their gym. I think we're expected to take the tools our parents gave us and become better from that...our children are expected to do the same. So, in theory, they should be like 2x more improved than our parents :)
Post a Comment