When a person brings another life into this world, I feel that it is a great responsibility that should never be taken lightly, regardless if it happens by surprise or intentionally planned. Starting a family is like building a house that must have a strong, solid foundation to withstand the storms of shaky times, enduring challenging situations that will test the integrity of what was built. The couple must contemplate the reality of their relationship's ability to be committed to one another and to the life they create in togetherness. Working well as a team before procreating with the weighty responsibility of a life in their care and bonded for the years to come. If a solid foundation of family love and support is to be laid, it all starts with:
the couple.
A couple should not think that bringing a baby into the mix will solve whatever relationship issues that might already exist, by engaging one another to commit to each other. It would most likely last for a temporary period of bliss, if they're lucky enough to not crack and split under the pressure all together. Between hormonal pregnancy effects that can bring about storms of mood swings, physical discomforts and changes on the woman, and along with the challenges of navigating new parenthood, such factors will test the strength of a couple's relationship. Having a baby together adds another dimension of weight to a relationship that must be solidly founded enough to bear it as it is built from the ground up.
We, as parents, or the moment a mother births her child, plant our children from seedlings and are entrusted to take care and tend to their unique needs in fertile soil that nourishes and feeds their little souls. We are to handle their roots with the greatest care, especially when transplanting them to larger pots to allow their roots to branch out freely as they grow. We need to deal with our children with understanding, knowing their very being so we can tailor our guidance in the best way for them to respond to our teaching and discipline, not asking them to give up who they are, but rather working with our children just as they are.
We must first lead by our example, followed by words to reinforce the impact of our actions. Children naturally want to please those they love, so we must not abuse such an inborn inclination by setting clear boundaries of our expectations that prove to always be in their best interests, as these little sponges will sense it and most likely respond without reservation. Regardless of what values we choose to instill in our children, if it is done with their benefit in mind on a basis of love, it has a higher chance of bearing wholesome fruitage.
Since becoming a parent, the impact of raising the next generation becomes more and more apparent as I see my little ones imitating my every move and inborn mannerisms, some I'm not even aware of until I see it reflected in them. When we have passed, it is our children who will go on and follow the trail of footprints we leave behind to carry on our parenting legacy in how we raised them to be and the effect we had on them, and it can be a key factor to their ability to thrive and live successfully without us. Successfully—not weighed in the worth of some numerical value—but the success of achieving an inner happiness in their life lived with whatever it is that they're doing, thus spreading positive effects of their happiness to others.
I take mothering my children very seriously, and with each one that I've had, both my hopes and fears fuel my desire to give them the best of who I am and what I would hope for them. I strive to do so in hopes that they will become decent, functional individuals for themselves and to society as I see my children as individuals who make up a part of the next generation.
I feel this heavy responsibility to shape them for their future, as they are the future of a generation of peoples. I want my children to have a happy future, to be happy in what they do, and to be happy in who they are to become. So, when the time comes that we leave our little legacies behind, make it a resolve to have left them with your best - whatever that may be and in whatever form and ways that you know best - so that the future may be brighter and hopeful for them and to all those that they touch.
With LOVE. Always,
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