I dug this up yesterday to send to someone - it was posted by to a yahoo group I'm on. I read it every now and again - I think Kelly did a wonderful job of articulating a philosophy that we share. She's much more eloquent than I am.

If you respect your children, they will be respectful.
If you trust your children, they will be trustworthy.
If you are generous with your children, they will be generous.
If you are patient with your children, they will be patient.
If you model curiosity to your children, they will be curious.
If you are kind and gentle with your children, they will be kind and gentle.

We are easily conditioned.

But:
If you are controlling of your children, they will rebel.
If you are disrespectful of your children, they will show no respect.
If you are distrusting of your children, they will lie and sneak.
If you are impatient with your children, they will dawdle.
If you force your children, they will resist.
If you are stingy with your children, they will steal.

-- Kelly Lovejoy

A note from the universe

There is a website, TUT.com, that sends out daily "notes from the universe". I don't subscribe to it (yet), but someone forwarded this to me today, and I really really like it. I think I've gotten over lamenting and am now able to choose the second path and pitch in:

First, as a child, it seems like the entire world is there for you and you rush to drink from its every cup, sometimes wondering to yourself how anything could ever be more fun.

Then, as you grow older, if you're observant, you realize much of what you enjoy was made possible by the contributions, work, and labor of those who came before you, and you're taken aback, disappointed even, because with maturity you can now see cracks in the façades, imperfections in the details, and 10,000 ways it could have all been done better.

At which point, folks typically choose one of two paths: Spend a lifetime lamenting how far from perfect things are. Or, to one degree or another, roll up their sleeves and pitch in.

And should they choose the latter with gusto, they will come to know, to the core of their sacred being, that the differences they might make in the world cannot be made by another. And then they will discover the answer to their often-wondered childhood question.... That the most fun one can have in time and space comes from making such a difference, and that the joy derived from serving is 10,000 times that of being served.

At your service -
The Universe

This doesn't mean life becomes all work and no play. It just means work becomes play, no matter what you do, and play becomes ecstasy.

http://www.tut.com/celebration.html Celebrate!
http://www.tut.com/ipa.htm Infinite Possibilities
http://www.village.tut.com The Village
http://www.tut.com/shop.htm Shop
http://www.tut.com/pd/postcards.shtml E*Cards
http://www.tut.com/invite.htm Tell a Friend
http://www.tut.com Home

Not quite a quote, but...

I came across this today and wanted to post it here, because it helps me to remember that alternate views can be taken on just about everything.

I often wonder whether or not Taipan watches too much TV (ok, not technically tv, but videos and DVDs really), and when we had the Wii and X-Box set up on our big tv, I wondered if he played too much.

But, would I think that same thing if he were reading books all day? Um, no, most likely not.

If Games Had Come Before Books

e.e. cummings quote

I know you're here for pictures and stories about the kids, but today you get a quote instead :)

"To be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle that any human being can fight."

I love it. Seems to ring true in some ways, though I find that the more true I am to myself, the *easier* it becomes to be myself. If I'm comfortable and at peace with who I am, then it doesn't seem to matter if what I'm doing is different, so there's really no battle. Make sense, or am I just full of it?

Quote

I'm on quite a few yahoo groups, and every now and then people share quotes that I really like. So, today I decided that I'd post some of them so I can have record of them. And, heck, I may even feel inspired to share why I like it.


"We're like actors, turned loose in this world to
wander in search of a phantom, endlessly searching for
a half formed shadow of our lost reality. When others
demand that we become the people they want us to be,
they force us to destroy the person we really are.
It's a subtle kind of murder. The most loving parents
and relatives commit this murder with smiles on their
faces. "

- Jim Morrison (1943 - 1971)

Ok, so you can guess why I like this one.... it reminds me to allow my kids to be who they are. And to love them and accept them for who they are right now, knowing that they may or may not change, and that's ok. They can have different interests, different viewpoints, and different personalities than me and Yuta (God willing lol), and it's ok. I want them to be who they are. That's it.