Am I raising people who will be kind and compassionate? Leaders? Followers? Good citizens? Will they stay with the values I'm trying to instill? What notions of life am I teaching them? Will they be people who can hold down jobs? Can they live independently some day? Will they be happy?
Will they ever learn how to lift the lid when they pee? Will they ever care that their shoes are on the correct feet? How much money do I need to be saving for therapy for the ways I'm sure I'm warping them?
You know ... the important questions of life.
I think most parents face these questions. But parenting is like going through 18 years of school without having a report card. You have no clue if they are going to "pass" or "fail" until they are presented with the tests of life. You get hints along the way but you truly never know until they are smack dab in the middle of the test. And all we can do at times like that is to hope we have raised them right. Hope that we have taught them what they need to know to pass.
We do get hints every now and then about how they're doing though.
The other day, Luke (8) was not feeling super well so he didn't go with Daddy when he took all the kids for a scooter ride in the park. He stayed with Manny and me. I sat Manny down with some blocks and some padding in case he fell over. Luke joined him.
For the next hour, they built together. They laughed. Luke would build a tower and then help Manny crash it down. There was a moment where Manny couldn't reach the tower and instinctively, Luke got up and went behind Manny. Luke raised his little arms and leaned him forward just enough for Manny to reach the tower and crash it. I wondered how many 8 year olds would know what to do, know how to do it and do it.
My Mother's heart was full. I thought, "Wow" ... "I'm raising kids who know how to think about and care for other people."
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