Tonight I am grateful for each of my children; they are both unique in their personalities, the gifts they bring into the world, and their attitudes and approaches to life. They also share similarities: their incredible creativity in music, writing and self expression, and their capacities for deep thinking and reflection on a wide variety of topics. They are both increasingly self aware and have already experienced a great many things in their young lives.
Yesterday I knew I was in for a really long day–I had an event at work that was going to last from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. I was so busy working with my colleague to get things ready and set up that I forgot that I had intended to write my blog between 5:30 and 6:30. It wasn’t until I was talking to my daughter at around 7:30 that I realized I wasn’t going to have a chance to even start writing until after 11 p.m. “How would you like to write my blog for me tonight? I’ve been wanting to invite guest bloggers from time to time. You can be the first.” She agreed and wrote and posted last night’s blog. When I got home at 12:30 a.m. and walked the dog (who’d been stuck in the house since I’d left her at around noon ), I finally had the chance to sit down and read what she had written.
Michal’s blog last night spoke with poignant candor to some of the challenges she’s been experiencing lately and her determination to find the good that’s generally present even in the most difficult circumstances. She knows that I am a firm believer in the power of gratitude, of seeking what’s good and beautiful even in the midst of the struggle, and that writing can be extremely therapeutic and helpful in clarifying thoughts and feelings. Michal herself is a blogger and journaler, using them both as a means of self expression and of making sense of the world around her. Like me she is also a singer-songwriter, having used her playing and singing as a salve to her soul when painful circumstances arose that she could express in no other way than through her music.
I am proud of Michal’s ability to express herself and was so pleased that she was so willing and totally capable in filling in for me on yesterday’s blog. I had been wanting to invite her to write for some time now and have also extended an invitation to one of my brothers. In the weeks and months ahead, look for a guest blog from my son, from one of my sisters, and other folks if I can convince them to write.
I am grateful that I have the opportunity to watch my kids grow and mature into the young adults they are, and though I still shake my head sometimes at the things they come up with and their occasionally wacky behavior, mostly I am impressed by how they’re emerging into really cool people. As a parent, one can’t really ask for too much more than that.
