Sweet relief

I had my MOPS meeting this morning. MOPS stand for Mothers of Preschoolers. Moms with children from age 0- Kindergarten are eligible to attend MOPS. With my youngest son being in the Big K, this is my last year in MOPS. The sweet relief isn't about the MOPS meetings, I will actually miss those. The sweet relief is that the baby/preschooler phase of my life is coming to an end. And, really, honestly, it's OK. I enjoy the ages that my children are. Focus on the Family (who I often disagree with, frankly) said that the years from 6-11 are the easiest in child-rearing because they aren't as physically demanding as babies/preschoolers and they aren't yet into the turbulent teen years. I think I agree. This is fun! Not, that we aren't without our fair share of fires to put out.

I guess what I like most about it is that I realize I do not have all of the answers. Since most of the challenges are more about their emotional and spiritual lives, there are more than one "good" way to look at things. And, since I don't have all of the answers, I don't expect you, as a parent, to have all of them either. I also like that since I have seen my children be human (read: naughty) on more than one occasion, I no longer feel the need to judge anyone based on their children's behavior. I like that I am more confident in my abilities as a mother. It seems almost silly that as the answers get less and less clear that I would become more confident. It's not so much that I'm confident in the job that I'm doing, I'm confident that God is at work in their lives, I guess.

It does feel like it's some down time. I pray that I use the time wisely to invest in my children...not just waste it because it is easier.