Celebrating 25 years of motherhood, day 18- Values!

 Day 18 , Values.

As I reflect back on my journey of motherhood, I cannot but think of my parents, two of the kindest souls I know. Though they were physically thousands of miles apart, I felt their presence daily in the values I was teaching my children.

Growing up, they often used to tell us, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind. No acts of kindness are ever wasted."

 I hope we practiced the same and the children saw us being kind to people around us.

 But in pursuit of being great parents, we had forgotten  to extend the same courtesy to each other, as parents of our children. We were not kind to ourselves. We were racing to the finish line. The children did not see us being kind to each other.

 Sadly, it took a global pandemic for us to reflect and value our priorities. As horrible as the pandemic was, it allowed us to pause and regroup. It allowed us to not only be kind to each other but others around us. Amidst the chaos, we found a new appreciation for the beauty of the present, the now. 

We realized it that parenting was not a race, rather it was a journey, it needed to be savored. The first born had already grown and flown but we still had two at home. During the pandemic, first born came  back home and did virtual learning. We spent a lot of quality time with each other, we took long walks, we volunteered at the food bank, at the vaccine clinic. 

As much as I hate to say it and accept it, it was the pandemic that opened our eyes. It made us understand the value of time, it was not the material things; it was the love, the support and the understanding. In more than many ways, I am thankful to the lockdown.

What about you? What are your memories of the pandemic?

" Don’t raise your kids to have more than what you had. Raise them to be more than you were." Creative child