So I’ve been thinking about what I want to write lately. I have so much to catch up on, pictures galore – but I feel like we’re past 2010, and starting a new year now. So do I really want to post pictures from Christmas, or even worse, Halloween? I’m thinking that I might just move forward, instead of catching up. If you have any thoughts or opinions let me know. :)

With that in mind… moving forward.

Wow. Kaden has hit me with some doozies lately. There’s the ever popular “where do babies come from?” and everything that surrounds that question… (and for the record, I did AWESOME with that question!) Then the things like “what if chips were bigger than the world?” Again, I thought I did pretty well with that one too, because I told him that if chips were that big we wouldn’t be able to dip them in salsa or queso, and if you can’t do that, what’s the point of a chip?

But the other night, driving home, he asked me a question that stopped me. Because there’s nothing like driving home, tired, wanting to relax, and being asked a life changing question. A question that could potentially shape his character. No pressure, right Mommy?

He asked me “What’s the most important thing in life?”

Well hmm…

I stopped for a second, and replied, without hesitation, LOVE. He looked at me a little funny (thank you, rearview mirror!) and said “what do you mean?”

I told him that LOVE is the most important thing in the world. Love for God, first and foremost. Love for family – whether it’s the family we’re born with or the family we choose in our friends. Love for others, because even if they’re people that we don’t like and want nothing to do with, even if they’re mean and nasty – they’re still God’s creation, and we shouldn’t be mean back. Love for ourselves, knowing that we’re valuable not because of anything we’ve done, but because we were created in Love, and we deserve to be treated well. When we love others, and love ourselves, we understand how precious life truly is. Love for animals, love for others, and with that he took off – “love for mommies, love for daddies, love for Frankies, love for grammies, love for grandpaps…” and went on and on. So with that, I was pretty proud of myself, and I let him go off on his tangent.

And then, he said “what’s number two?” Everything has an order now, there’s always a first, second, third, etc. So I had to think again. (Whew, my brain was getting tired…)

After a moment, I said “number two is kind of tied into number one – the way we treat others.” He replied “because when we love someone we treat them with respect!” That’s my boy! ;)

Then it came, “what about number three?” Grr… okay, I can do this.

I thought again… and replied with “well again number three is kind of tied into the others – and it’s doing what’s right, even if nobody is watching or giving you a reward.” He thought about that, and said “you mean being good all the time?” I said “yep, at least trying as hard as you can. Even if no one else is watching, God is always watching, and we should always try to do what’s right. Everyone will make mistakes, but trying every day to do your best.”

So at this point, I’m done with the conversation. I’m tired, now my brain hurts, because I know how important this conversation is, and he moves on. “So we have one, two and three, how about four?”

Back to thinking. I finally said “being grateful for everything you’ve been blessed with.” He started listing things – home, family, food, toys.. and kept going. And then the inevitable next question “what is number five?”

At that point, I said “that’s all I have Kaden, that’s a lot to think about, how about we stop there?” He agreed, and we pulled up to home, which also kind of saved me.

I’ve been thinking about this conversation this past week, and wondering if I ordered them correctly. Did I forget anything? They’re kind of vague statements, but important ones. I kept asking myself, what do I want him to prioritize in his own life? What do I want him to hold dear? And did I cover that in those four statements, of what is most important in life?

I think I got it. I think I covered it. I’m sure more will come up, other things will pop up to be added to the list… but I did my best. After all, isn’t that what parenting really is? Doing the best you can, with what you have, in order to raise happy, healthy, loving children, so that they can be productive adults. Adults that change the world, even if it’s just by loving one person at a time. Those statements remind me of two of my favorite quotes:

“To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.” – Unknown

“You did then what you knew how to do and when you knew better… you did better.” – Maya Angelou

I love those quotes, they make me smile. :)

Happy Monday everyone! Now that I think about NOT posting pictures from last year, a specific one comes to mind that I wanted to share, so I might post some. But either way, have a great week!