May 10
24
Mommy Life Preserver
Last weekend, we spent some time at the beach. I loved being in the calm, cool water with my little ones. We built islands in the sand, searched for shells, and kept coated with sunscreen.
At one point, my husband and oldest son were out swimming around the sand bar–quite a way out in the water. I decided, on a whim, to take our other five, two of which who are not yet proficient swimmers, out to the sand bar. As we started to walk and swim out in the water, some of the children began to fear. Others fed off the fear, and soon I was the Mommy Life Preserver out in the water–with five children’s lives depending on my height, strength, and swimming abilities. I laughed a bit and consoled their fears as we inched our way out to where they could stand again.
When we reached the sand bar, they were elated that they could stand there–way out in the water. They pushed around the sand at their feet and splashed a bit in the relief that they felt secure with their feet planted on seemingly solid sand. After playing for awhile, we again held onto each other and floated/walked/swam back to shore.
We played on the shore and built more with sand and talked. I said to one of my children who doesn’t swim yet, “You were so brave as we went to the sand bar!”
He responded, “No, I wasn’t brave; I was scared!”
I said, “You can be scared and still be brave. You were brave! You did it!!!”
Here are the lessons I learned:
#1–Mothers are strong. No matter what is going on in their worlds, they can reach out to their children and provide experiences which help them feel successful. When has your mother preserved your life or strengthened you? How can you do that for your children, friends, sisters, husband, or others in your life?
#2–Even when we feel afraid, we can be brave. We can follow through with goals, tasks, assignments–no matter how daunting they can seem…and we can find success!!! We are here to grow and learn and help one another! We are here to succeed and love and build and share. We can do this; we can succeed!!!!!
What do you think?
