Friends Uplift The Soul

Friends Uplift The Soul...

Last night I attended a parent seminar at my daughter's school, titled, “BFF! (Except When We're Not): Teaching Girls to Develop Healthy Friendships”.  This was a pretty powerful seminar and opened my eyes.  I wanted to share what I took away.....

As a mom to a pretty incredible 5th grade girl, I have observed the dynamics among her and her "friends".  Over the past 7-8 months I have noticed some strange shifts in the behaviors of some of the girls she was around.  I have also noticed how my daughter reacts/responds in turn.  I will be the first to admit, there are times when"Mama Bear" wanted to come out and roar, "KNOCK IT OOOOFFFFF!" And, I also know that this is exactly the opposite of what my daughter would want me to do.  I know that she looks to me to guide her, not tell her what to do.  I will own the fact that there are times, where I go right into advice mode and start rattling off all the things I think she "should" do.  Those are the same times when I see her roll her eyes, cross her arms, or drift off to the happy place in her head.  It's funny, I see her disengaging, the voice in my head yells, "change course...this is not working!!!", and yet I hear myself continuing to tell her what to do.  UGH!  And so the vicious cycle continued.  
I know I am not alone in this! Right??
(I digress....)

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who cannot pay you back." ~John Bunyan

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who cannot pay you back."

I read this quote and thought about a recent event in my life.....
A couple weeks ago, I was at the airport with my kids, heading off of for a family vacation.  As we waited to board the plane, I noticed a family sitting together.....Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter.  The exception was that the son, the young man, was dressed in military fatigues.  He did not look any older than 18.  He also looked very proud.  I observed several people walking over to shake his hand, and they said, "Thank you for your service".  This touched my heart.  Mom and Dad beamed with pride.
My son (8 yrs. old) wanted to know why people were shaking his hand. As I began to explain how this young man was about to leave his family, probably head off to basic training, and learn how to protect this amazing country of ours, the gate attendants announced that they would begin pre-boarding shortly.  I then noticed Mom.  She was doing all she could to keep her proud, brave smile, as she fought back the tears. The young man hugged her, and said, "It's okay mom".  Whew! I felt the tears welling up as I looked back at my own little boy.