a place to write

Photo Credit: Aubrey Stout

Thank you Mama Jenn, and any other person who inspired the idea of a mama and me notebook. I just presented the idea to my kids last night, and already I'm seeing the dividends paying off in regards to the relationship I'm building with my son and daughter.

Frederick Douglass said,

"It's easier to build strong children, then to repair broken men."

My daughter was instantly in love, she already loves to write, and I'm constantly sticking stamps on letters she's written to grandma. My son wanted to laugh it off and call it all lame, but after a heartfelt discussion he decided it would be worth his time. I told them that what they decided to write about could be funny or serious, it could be anything they wanted it to be. My son chose serious, for entry #1. Out of respect for his privacy, I won't share his words, but I will say, that he needs the freedom to write down whatever it is he's thinking, without worry he'll be criticized or even judged on his grammar skills. He's like me, we need our safe place to express how we're feeling, we need quietness to get to the core of the issue, we're NOT going to just blurt out what we're thinking, and it's not because we expect everyone to read our mind, it's because we're afraid.

This notebook is his safe place. I can see how this notebook will help me build up my children strongly, and will help them feel listened to. I pray that we explore questions of life, friendship, sorrows, joy, faith, and even generous dashes of make believe. I wish I had a safe place to write, an open ended invitation to share my heart with my parents, in a way that helped me convey my thoughts, not hinder them. I know they didn't do much good hiding under my dresser. I know I'll never regret this opportunity, another conduit in getting to peer into the hearts of my children.

Please pray for me as I take time to reflect my children's post every week, but especially in entry #1, that my response to him, is everything he needs, and much more.