***I am officially the queen of unfinished blog posts. Bow down to me.***
I make a lot of jokes about what I should do to the codependents...Like changing the wi-fi password everyday and not giving it out unless rooms are clean and chores are complete. I blog about what I do with them. I want to take them to parks and movies. I want them to experience being a part of team sports. Friends. Fun. I have blogged plenty of times about the things that I have done with them and the things I want them to do.
I'm not sure that I have ever really blogged about what I would like to do for the codependents. (Well, besides that whole pesky task of making sure that each one makes it to adulthood.) There are so many things that I would like for Hadley, Ella, and Layton to witness, so that each would truly appreciate how precious life is and how fortunate our family has always been.
The brutal truth is that they live in a carefully crafted bubble. I crafted that bubble. It's because of me that my children have a distorted sense of reality - sort of. My choices have dictated where they live; what they eat; with whom they play; friends they have; what they see on TV; and every other aspect of their lives. If I were to tell Layton that there are people without homes, he wouldn't fully understand. If I were to tell Ella that there are people with no food, she would think I was talking about some far away land. Hadley is old enough that she is beginning to understand there is a real world out there, and that it's not always pretty. I believe in my heart that there is no reason for young children to know about the hurt, loss, and deprivation of the real world. As they grow older though, they will need knowledge of the world in order to have compassion for the world.
If I could do anything for my children as they grow up...
I would show them that suffering is not "life without an ipad."
I would take them to broken colonias in Mexico.
We would build houses for Habitat for Humanity.
We'd spend our holidays volunteering in soup kitchens to help feed those without blessings and lives like ours.
I'd take them to Africa to hold orphaned babies. My children would see and understand the reality of HIV in places where medical care is scarce.
Water. We would carry water to those in need and help make it possible for water to always be
available.
We would deliver food to shut ins and spend hours visiting with nursing home residents.
Children would be fed and have story time for dessert.
If I could do anything for my children, I would show them the world without a censor and how so many are still joyous even in the worst situations.