Note To Self.....

Are they GOOD BABIES??.....

I get asked this question all.the.time. Does anyone really think I am going to say, 'No, not really. They are awful. Horrible.'...?

Probably not. Not unless I am having a really really bad day, but I would never say that outloud. Only in my head, sometimes in a vented text to my sister and well, I do occasionally mutter it under my breath to Aaron. But that's it.

Then I get, 'How about your teenagers? Are they good? Teens are HARD. Whoa, wait until you have 5 teenage girls!! I'm glad I don't live in YOUR house!'

-Yeah, thanks, so am I. I surely don't need your negativity bringing me down. Our house may be chaotic, but it's beautiful chaos.

All babies are good. All babies are sweet. All babies are perfect. Every single one of them are all that and so much more.

Toddlers are fun. Toddlers are a challenge. Toddlers are full of life and curiosity. Toddlers make the world stop with their discovery of life and everything around them.

Tweens are sweet. Tweens try so hard to discover themselves. Tweens are so fun to observe. Tweens keep the world smiling at their ever changing lives from minute to minute.

Teens. Teens are beautiful. Teens make you think, and remember, and reminisce . Teens make you laugh in wonderment at the almost adult you're responsible for creating.

We are, right now, raising triplets (babies), toddlers, tweens and teens.

It's what we put into our children as their teachers. We need to set the examples and guide the way. For their entire lives. Raising a child doesn't stop if they make a mistake. It doesn't stop when they turn 18, or move out. It doesn't stop when they go to college or even if they don't. It doesn't stop when they get married and have their own families.

It's a forever kinda thing.

A lifetime promise to commit to this experience with more love than anything else you'll ever commit to, in your life.

And it's HARD.

I came across this story on Facebook. It's perfect (I'm just seeing it for the first time although I'm sure it's known). It makes it all so simple. Suddenly, it doesn't seem quite as difficult now.

'An old man told his grandson, "My son, there's a battle between
two wolves inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed,
resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth."
The boy thought about it and asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The man quietly replied, "The one you feed."