I was told yesterday in another thread that “children should not be gifts, I should be their gift.” So, I’ve decided to start a thread for parents to share why our children are gifts.
Today is my daughter’s 17th birthday. She is my oldest. Seventeen years ago today, when I held that precious little baby in my arms for the first time, and looked in her eyes for the first time, I knew that I had never experienced true love until that moment. And I was fortunate to have that experience a second time, when my son was born.
Once, when I was pregnant with her, a friend told me that children are the source of the highest highs and the lowest lows you will ever experience. Those words have turned out to be truer than I ever could have imagined at the time.
Because of my children, I have experienced a breadth and depth of emotion in my life that I would have never thought possible prior to becoming a mother. They teach me important things about myself and life every day.Someone else in the other thread mentioned that most reasons people have children are selfish. Isn't it ironic how we do something for selfish reasons and it turns out to teach us how to be selfless?
Could I have picked a better father? Possibly. Could I have gotten them out of the chaos sooner than I did? Probably. But, if I had it all to do over again, I have to say there is not much I would change. Plus, ruminating about the past is just about the biggest waste of time I can think of.
I believe that the universe is unfolding exactly as it should and I, and they, are exactly where we should be right now. And that all things that have happened in our lives have happened for a reason.
I will not defend my choice to have children with a less than perfect man. But, I will defend my choice of words in expressing my gratitude for my children. They truly are the greatest gifts I have ever been given and they are loved more than words can convey, by BOTH of their imperfect parents.
L