Within The Lines...

In the past few weeks, it has become tradition to end the day with a coloring session...

Kate grabs her markers, a few of her favorite coloring books, and sets up camp on the floor of the living room...

And she loves the company of Dave or I...and to be honest, I love that time with her...those are the moments that I hear about her day...not as answers to the questions I ask (What did you have for lunch? Who did you play with? What did you learn about?), but the day from her perspective...her thoughts, her insights...they are such precious moments...

Lately, she has been focused on "coloring like Mommy" and by that she means coloring within the lines...

I've watched her, tongue out in deep concentration and I am so proud of the "progress" she's made, but there have been some eye opening experiences along the way...one night, I watched her go a little outside the lines and she quickly turned the page and started over...when I asked her why she started a new picture, she quickly responded "I went outside of the lines."

And with that move, I was convicted of two important lessons I need to teach both Kate and Drew...not with my words, but with my actions...

I'll be the first to admit...I am your "typical" type A...a perfectionist in ALL that I do...and mistakes, well they're not ok with me...

But the fact is...mistakes are a part of life...we can't hide them...we can't always start over with a fresh page...instead, more often than not, we have to recognize the mistake and keep going...hoping not to make the same one...So I've been careful lately, to let Kate see me make mistakes, and more importantly, to see me be "ok" with making them...that's not easy...I am fighting it, but I keep going...

Secondly, we shouldn't always "stay within the lines" - life can't always be neat and orderly...for as long as I can remember...I have had a plan...I needed to take certain classes to get into the college I wanted to go to, I needed to have certain experiences for my resume to get the job I wanted, I wanted to get married, start a family...and while I think having an overall plan for your life is a good thing, I think sometimes a plan can hinder us more than it can help us...for we miss those moments we're not planning on, we don't let life surprise us...

Some of the best moments are the ones we don't plan on...they are the ones that take you by surprise, that take your breath away...that knock you to your knees...I've learned this since I've been a mom...but I wish I would have learned it sooner, that I would have "planned" for more spontaneous moments, lived outside the lines...

It never ceases to amaze me...I'm supposed to be teaching my children, guiding them along the way, but instead more often than not, I find them teaching me...fulfilling needs, voids, I wasn't even aware of...

And for that, we will all be better...