Mommy Wish List

I found a post by Kara Baskin on her blog The 24-Hour Workday called Am I Mom Enough? A Motherhood Wish List.  In it she discounts the importance of Time magazine's attention grabbing extreme parenting story by making a wish list of things she thinks are important when raising a child.
To view her post go here Am I Mom Enough? (and yes, I figured out how to add a link without just copying and pasting the whole address . . . I'm starting to get the hang of this blog).

Some of the gems on her wish list:

. . . I hope I raise a child who gets what he wants just often enough to keep him optimistic but not enough to make him spoiled.
. . . I hope I raise a child who is open-minded and curious about the world without being reckless.
. . . I hope I raise a child who realizes that his parents are flawed but loves them anyway.

Thinking about the big picture of what kind of people I want my children to be, makes all the time I spend worrying about whether they go down at the right time for their naps seem completely inconsequential.  I know I will always worry about small things that do not matter in the long run--that is part and parcel of being human and a mother--but I need to at least put it in perspective.  Will it matter to them 20 years from now if they skipped one nap because we went to the zoo instead of staying home during nap time?  Probably not.  But in concentrating on the small stuff, does it keep you going so you can impart those more important life lessons?  Or does it interfere?  I suppose it depends (like most things in life).

For my children, I wish them to be kind, honest, honorable, optimistic, polite, gracious, open-minded, strong, happy, confident, beautiful in and out, knowledgeable, not afraid to get their hands dirty, healthy, resilient, determined and loved.  These are all qualities I hope and wish they have.  These are all qualities that I hope and wish I had, although I know I fall way short.  Are these qualities I can teach?  They will learn things by example, both good and bad, I know.  I hope everyone who is a part of their life contributes to them becoming better people, me especially.