Hey, I used to do that!

Have you ever looked at your children and thought, "Hey, I used to do that." Well Boo Boo has been giving me those kind of moments lately. I know for a fact that I used to sit in the laundry basket with my stuffed animals, and I'm pretty sure I crawled into cupboards too. It's funny how generations seem to repeat themselves.

For instance, I've begun to notice that Boo Boo doesn't interact with other children immediately the way some children do. Instead, she waits on the sidelines with the adults, soaks up the emotions, and then gets all excited when she thinks she's figured it out and tells me all about it. That's a lot like me, all the way up through high school and beyond. And she likes to sit and draw and and be helpful and involved and explain things. And she likes to know what she's doing before she gets into anything. That's a lot like me too.So the question becomes, how do I nurture the strengths inherent in these common traits without perpetuating the common weaknesses?

I want Boo Boo to enjoy a sense of adventure in this life. I want her to do what she feels like doing, within reason, the limits of decency, and the will of God, instead of thinking, "Well, it looks like fun, but I can find reasons not to do it" like I have so often. I want her to know that fun isn't necessarily a bad thing and that it's okay to jump into things and look silly and have fun. Of course, she might not need the lesson. Just don't let me quash anything worth keeping, please Lord. Let me raise a child with constant access to joy.