Leading by Example

Actions speak louder than words.  Its true.  So if we want our kids to explore their passions, what is the logical thing to do?  That's right.  We must explore our own passions!  Now I know what a lot of people think.  There isn't enough time to work, eat, and relax, let alone find the time to have a hobby.  And herein lies the challenge.  Oh, how I love a good challenge!

I am a stay-at-home mom.  I know, I know.  Loads of time on my hands!  But not so.  Besides having all three of my kids home with me all day, I am also responsible for the upkeep of the house, the meals, and the planning of day to day activities.  That's right.  I keep track of our library books, our prescription meds, our menu and grocery lists, the plants outside, the dinosaurs inside, and the list could go on and on.  So we are all in the same boat.  And we all have the same amount of time in a day.

So I'll go first.  I recently discovered a love for something.  And that thing is crafts.  But more specifically (and at the same time, much more vague), I love to make things.  Sewn things.  There, that's more specific.  And I recently combined my love for making things with necessity.  The necessity that our home creates.  Wanting new things and needing new things around our home can be solved with my love for making things.  I've found a goal!  To be a homemaker.  When someone walks into my home, I want them to see and feel the love that I've put into our home.  Into each and every item that was thoughtfully planned, carefully sewn by me.  And this, in turn, solves my desire to have unique things.  Not things that are cookie cutter, sold at every store items.

Finding the time to do these things is a challenge.  Some days I don't even make progress.  But its a goal I have and I am quite determined to keep it up.  I am even more determined now though, when I think about the impact that it will have on my kids' lives; seeing their mom care about something, love something, do something that she believes in.

I didn't grow up in a crafty family.  But when I think back, I second guess that.  My father always loved to work with wood.  He carved decoys, wall hangings, and animals.  He carves still to this day, mainly working on his own fishing lures.  My mother used to sewn.  I wore many a dress made by her and by my grandmother.  I even have my old dresses that she made, waiting for Annie to get big enough to fit into them.  I still receive a dress for Annie from time to time.  My brother is a musician.  My grandfather used to love raising orchids.  My other grandmother made all the grandkids Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.  My great-great grandfather (on my Japanese side) was an artist who painted silk and pottery.  All these things influenced me, even if subconsciously.  I have an appreciation for their hard work and craftsmanship.  It showed me that nothing that you desired to do is silly or frivolous.  Nurturing your hobby or your passion in life is a valid thing to want to do.  In some cases it keeps us going!

My hope is that my kids will see me spending time doing things (other than what I do for "work") that I love and that they will also value the things that interest them.  Value them enough to take time, find time, to continue their pursuit of those things.   There should always be time to enrich our lives.  I hope that you will find time to enrich yours and that of your children.