I would love for someone to read my blog and think, "I am going through that right now!" or, "I never thought of it that way." or maybe, "Well I know I don't want to do what she does!" I think deep down I want to make an impact with my words. I think we all have that ambition, to change lives and help other people in some way.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I lead a somewhat sheltered life. Growing up I was not exposed to swear words (until I got to middle school), my parents rarely fought (that I remember), I had both parents present in the home and we had a fairly close family despite having 7 kids spanning 18 years, I had friends who were also members of the LDS church and who believed the same things, we did not watch rated R movies and didn't even have the internet until I was in middle school. Back then pornography was not a worry like it is now (you had to really look for it then) I didn't even know what marijuana smelled like until I was a senior in high school. Now that I have grown and experienced the world in some ways I see both the good and bad in my upbringing.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a "rail against my parents" type of post, I love and admire my parents and I have had conversations with them as to what I wish they would have done. I guess my point is that we experience things and then we learn from them. If we don't learn from them, then the whole experience was wasted. There is ALWAYS something to learn.
From my experiences I know what drugs and alcohol do to the body, and I know the signs of them, my kids will be able to get away with very little because of that. I have seen both sides, living in a very active LDS environment, and the complete opposite of living in a house where the occupants do drugs on a daily basis. I know that swearing has a spiritual impact on those that hear and say it, for this reason I will not tolerate my children using such language. I learned how to work as a child; whether it was through dishes, helping with dinner, vacuuming, or cooking; my parents made sure their kids contributed to the family. That is something I will pass down to my children. I learned respect, one time I talked back to my mom...well my dad heard, and I learned quickly that that type of behavior would not be tolerated.
The experiences I'm having now are harder. Saying your going to do something and actually doing it are two different things. Especially when it comes to raising kids and marriage. I think we all have a "picture-perfect" family in mind (at least I did). I will be honest and admit that my family does not fit what I had in mind when I was 16. That is okay, I have grown as a person and my idea of the "perfect" man is nowhere what it used to be. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who cares for and provides for his family. He helps around the house, he cleans, sweeps, does laundry, goes shopping and anything else that needs done. Our kids are amazing; they are smart, funny, loving, forgiving, patient, helpful and so much else.
I guess I'd like to challenge whoever reads this to think about what they can learn from the day to day experiences they have. To look for the positive in whatever situation you're in. To be more loving and kind to those that we love, since that is usually who we are the harshest towards. The world is full of good people, we just need them as individuals to realize they are good people, and the impact that a kind word can have.
No comments:
Post a Comment