Family and Parenting, Front Page

A Lesson Learned From A Child

March 13, 2009 by Stephanie · 1 Comment

Stephanie was born into a military family in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. She learned to love traveling at a young age and has spent a lot of her life wondering where the next move will take her. She spent 2 years traveling the US as a publicist for an extreme sports promoter, writing and photographing stories of the events for nationwide periodicals with each of her trips. She now writes out of Jesup, GA. A beautiful little city not too far from historic Savannah. She is the proud mother of 5 children, married to the man of her dreams, and can’t say there is a thing in her life she has to complain about, well at least for not more than a few minutes. Click here to visit Steph's Site

For a lot of us our greatest gifts we’ve been given are our children. Whether it’s one, three, eight or a forever growing number we are not sure where it will end. I, myself, have had six children, only five are living due to an accident at daycare , but that story is for another day. My five children and my husband are the world to me. As long as I have them I can do anything. Even those things I don’t want to do. Do you remember when you were younger and childless you could have nice things around and never worry about those prized possessions being disturbed because you kept them safe? Now as a mother have you found yourself absent of the finer things? After my last fiasco with yet another treasure having been broken I just decided to give up. I packed all my breakables away and put them in storage. I had cried a couple of times when something special to me had been lost forever but I finally figured out what all these things had in common by just one apologetic plea from my then seven year old daughter’s tiny little mouth.
“Oh MOM! I’m sorry I broke your stuff! I will make you some more stuff at school and you can put it there and dust around it too.” I laughed and instantly felt relieved, and revived. My silly little girl had summed it up in one sentence, it was JUST a thing and I hated dusting anyway!

My home is now filled with rubber tubs of toys, plastic cups and bowls, glasses made of polystyrene, and old used up couches that have seen better days but I just can’t see myself getting anything newer until my spill days are over, which with a 19 month old that could be years and years. But it’s okay. I don’t mind anymore. I don’t know the Joneses and don’t care if they have better things or stuff than I do because I am and will always be more rich than wealthy. My treasures are no longer worth a certain price tag but are priceless and a much better investment for the future, they are my children, my family, my life. So the next time your little one breaks something you thought had value, reprimand him on the act that caused it and not the value behind it and in the end you will be glad that you have som much more in your life to be thankful for than just “stuff”!