Each New Day

With all the financial crunching going on, last week my husband told me I need to get a job! When my son was born nearly 16 years ago, I went to working only one day a week. After about 8 months we were going to move. I chose not to work but have stayed home with my kids since then. When my husband told me to “get a job” I thought how that now the kids are older it might be a possibility (although difficult since we are still homeschooling our daughter.) But as the next few days have marched by, we have learned just how imperative it is to be home for kids even when they are older. They still need mom and dad around a lot. Of course, there are many single parents who don’t have the choice and must work, and there are other parents where both choose to work. That is up to them. I just know for us, I am very blessed to be able to stay home with my kids. It takes choices and sacrifices and I am glad we are able to do it.

My daughter is performing in another play in the town in which we used to live. I sometimes go to run errands or even get in a work out while she is rehearsing. With the town being rather small, I usually run into someone that I know. Over the last two days, I have run into two people. Kids. That used to be in my husband’s youth group. The one I met yesterday, my son knew, as he is friend’s with this boy’s younger brother. Today we were all at lunch and I saw another  girl, the same age as the boy I ran into yesterday. I told her to come “meet” my kids, since she hasn’t seen them since they were small.

My son said she looked familiar, my daughter had no idea. As I was trying to figure out just how old this girl was (and the boy from yesterday), it hit me that she (they both) graduated from high school the year my daugther was born. This makes the girl (them) nearly 30! Boy, those kids sure are growing up….

I was reminded this week just how much little things mean to people, especially kids. As we finished up our study on volcanoes, I gave the kids a little mini quiz. Nothing too hard and we did it orally. When the little boys were finished, I gave them a certificate that I had gotten on the internet. It showed that they were now “Junior Volcanologists”! They were so thrilled! It was nothing. It took very little time. And yet it meant a great deal to them. They were so proud, telling their cousins and grandparents how they were now “Junior Volcanologists”!