Tag: Family

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 118

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Today I was having a hard time coming up with a post. Then my 11 year old daughter said,” Mom just go on Pinterest and find something on there to blog about. You don’t always have to use YOUR WON photos you know! ” HA! So off I went 🙂

This picture reminds me of the times I have told my uncle in whose home I grew up in, ” I love you.” And his response has always been,” Thank you.” When I met my husband and I told him that, it freaked him out. I just didn’t think anything of it because that’s how he raised me. Thankfully, I see it all differently now. Have a superb week-end blog world!! 🙂

365 Snap shots of Life: Day 104

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I discovered how much I enjoy painting when my kids were toddlers. One frigid winter afternoon in Georgia I took out some finger paint and construction paper and they spent the next few hours delving into the paint with such enthusiasm that after a little while I joined them. I did a little picture and I put it on the fridge next to theirs. When their dad came home from work that evening, he noticed mine right away and he was as surprised  as I was at how good it turned out. Ever since, I enjoy experimenting with different mediums. One day I am going to get the nerve up to use oil paints. So I leave you with this picture I did in water-color. Happy week-end everyone!

Lonesome Coyote

Tell me what you see lonesome coyote,

the moon is your lover,

bathes you gently with light,

you respond in a howl- haunting Don Quixote.

-Eva Santiago copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 103

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10 Things and then Some…

10 Things I have learned in 17 years of home schooling:

1. Children are children until they grow up so let them be kids for as long as they can get away with it. You are training them to BECOME adults. So don’t treat them as “little adults”; they’ll be there soon enough.

2. Nobody is perfect so don’t expect perfection from your kids. Instill in them a sense of excellence instead.

3. Practice what you preach. Kids see right through their superiors and if you’re phony they’ll call you out on it.

4. When your child does her best, accept it.
5. Don’t even think that you’re going to pretend that you know everything. We don’t and kids learn that soon enough.

6. Sometimes kids ask questions not because they want an answer, they want to see how much you know.

7. DO NOT lie, especially to kids, in the guise that you’re trying to protect them. As they get older, they’ll see right through the BS.

8. Kids are honest as long as you’re honest with them.

9. The home schooling journey tends to get lonely at times for both parents and children.

10. Now a days education is a big money-making business. It doesn’t take a lot of cash to give your children a good education.

 

This is just a VERY brief over view of some of the things I have learned in this amazing, challenging and at times frustrating journey. I had never stopped to think about it until now. If you were to ask me 25 years ago when I graduated from high school what I’d be doing 25 years later, this would have never popped into my head. I was headed to live out a completely self-absorbed life style and then what happened? Faith took over and led me here. I’m so glad I listened to her instead of following my way. My 25th class reunion is coming up this summer.  I dare say I’m pretty sure I’m not going to hear too many of my fellow classmates of the class of ‘87 saying they are in my profession. I’d probably get the usual bewildered looks that I’ve grown accustomed to over the years. But alas, I don’t see the point in going to a reunion where I hardly knew anyone back then and I’m certainly not going to know any of those people now. It’s time to celebrate my daughter’s accomplishment and that’s what I’m going to do this summer!!!

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 97

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PROTECT THEM AT ALL COSTS!

CAREFUL! Young eyes are watching. We must be so careful with the young souls of our children. I am deeply grieved lately at how kids are losing their innocence at younger ages these days. No matter how hard we try to protect them, and I emphasize protect and NOT overly shelter, there is a difference; they still get exposed to age inappropriate things before their time. My youngest girl asked me the other day to tell her what a certain sexual reference meant. I let her see the shock in my face because I remember her older siblings hadn’t heard of that at her age. So she told me that she had over heard one of her older sister’s friends telling them about her sexual escapaes with her boyfriend. I was very upset.  So I had my daughter call her friend and tell her to please refrain from sharing her stories with her when she comes over; my daughter admitted to me that frankly, she was tired of hearing about it too. Folks, our kids will grow up it’s a fact of life. But when my 11 year old tells me she didn’t want to know about certain things yet, well I had to act.

Our children are being bombarded daily with adult material that is too much for their young brains and tender souls to deal with. I thank God I’m able to home school mine so  I can keep the onslaught at bay, at least for a little longer than the kids that have to face it everyday in regular school. I wonder what the people of a few generations back would think of all of this that kids have to deal with everyday?

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 96

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The proverb says to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. The hardest aspect of parenting is knowing that even though you did your very best to pour good things into your children, that they are free moral agents and at times they will choose the wrong way.

When my kids were all younger I changed our eating habits by introducing the blood type diet; a way of eating that is blood type specific in order for your body to assimilate the nutrients it needs. I saw how right away we all felt better  and healthier. I didn’t ban junk food though because to ban anything creates rebellion so I still allow for all of us to junk out when we crave it that way we satisfy the craving. A few years back, my oldest daughter was consuming a lot of ice cream. She was getting a nice shape and was starting to notice her body changing from that of a girl to a young woman. That summer she was flabbergasted when the ice cream she was eating began showing up in her belly as unwanted flab.

Astounded, she marched up to me demanding to know why she would get such an unsightly thing on her body. Nature  is the best teacher. I asked her what she’d been indulging in lately and right away she hung her head and admitted the ice cream was the culprit. She swore to never go there again and she hasn’t since. That is one example of how I believe God deals with us. He doesn’t ban anything from us, He lets us make choices.

A long time ago I read a book about The Proverbs in the Bible and it blew me away when the author explained that the proverbs are principles to live by and they aren’t set in stone laws that guarantee that your child will be perfect. As I pondered that I understood in that instant that my kids are human like me and they will make mistakes just like I do. When you train up your children in the way of the Lord it creates a safe passage for them into adulthood. When you don’t train them up, you set them up to fail…it’s inevitable. Whether you train them or not they’ll still make mistakes, but if they have the right foundation, they’ll have something to return to, a place to anchor themselves to so they can handle life and its storms.

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 95

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Today started out quite disappointing but along the way I managed to pull myself up by my bootstraps…with a little help of course!  First I was disappointed about something I was really looking forward to doing soon but it’s on hold for now. Then later on in the day I found out some disappointing news. I had enough of it and I decided to take a long nap. Then my daughter invites me out for a late lunch early dinner which I guess you could call it “brinner” 🙂

Sometimes God wants to bless you through your kids and I say let them! Don’t be proud, humble yourself and receive their blessing, they’re just trying to give back a little of what you gave them.

Walking home from the Mexican restaurant we ate at, my daughter asks me,” What is honorable these days mom?” I want to share a list of things I believe are honorable and if you come up with some of your own, good for you!

WHAT IS HONORABLE:

1. Working your problems out with a difficult spouse so your children can see that there are adults who care enough to work things out. This also shows them marriage is no picnic at times.

2. Honoring your dreams by pursuing them.

3. Telling the truth even if you risk losing someone.

4.Telling your kids the truth instead of always acting like everything is fine and trying to protect them. Your kids see right through you anyways and they know you’re only protecting yourself. Also, no one was ever hurt from knowing too much truth; it’s the lies that do the most damage.

5. Telling some one you love them even if they don’t reciprocate it.

6. Being able to love that person who hurt and traumatized you.

7. Forgiving yourself fully.

8. Embracing yourself with all of your quirks.

9. Not running away from life.

10. After a relationship dies, still having hope that you will find love again.

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 88

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The Stage

Have you ever felt like you’re the one everyone depends on for seemingly everything? You’re the one people try out their best  and worst lines on. You’re the one they leap, twirl, tip-toe, prance  and dance on. You’re covered will all sorts of scuff-marks and scratches. There are days you don’t feel special; in fact you have days when you’re so exhausted that you just lay there.

Welcome to that part of life I’ve come to embrace and dubbed “The Stage”.

If you’re a parent you’re acquainted with being the stage for your kids. You’re the one they try their best and worst lines on. You’re the one they try their firsts on; from crawling, to first steps, then jumping, running and eventually dancing. You’re covered with all sorts of scuff-marks and scratches but you keep going nonetheless because out of those, you know dreams are launched. And, as parents we all have days when we feel overlooked, ignored and forgotten. The activity continues though because you know the show must go on.

You know that at the end of the performance you’ll get no credit. The actors will be lauded. The director and his crew will receive pats on their backs. The lights will shine but you’re underneath it all. Still you don’t care because when you’re called to be the stage, you know that without you, they won’t have a place to stand on. Without you dreams won’t come true. Much is said about great performances; little is ever mentioned about the stages they played on. It takes great confidence to be a stage. You must have a firm grasp on yourself; a knowing that you are a vital part of the show’s success.

When the lights go out and the audience goes home, you’ll just lay there, quietly fulfilled, resting for the next performance.

-Eva Santiago 2012