Mother Dearest

    I have recently been thinking about my life as a mother, and I decided it was time to get my thoughts out in a somewhat organized manner. I want my children to be happy and healthy, so how does one achieve this in such a crazy world like ours? There are a few things that I hope my children are exposed to at a young age, so they can be happy, healthy, and productive citizens.
     1. Social Consciousness!
           I want my children to be aware of their blessings and to realize how many people in the world are not as fortunate as they are. In a world of materialism, we sometimes forget the many things that we have been given. We walk around with our iPhones and $5 cups of coffee, and we too often forget that these things are superfluous luxuries when children are living around trash cans in India. I hope that my children learn to give back to the world, and appreciate their lives.
     2. Healthy Eating!
          As my eyes have recently been opened to the amount of preservatives and unnatural chemicals that are in our food, I want my children to grow up without ingesting these unhealthy additives. I want to have my own garden, prepare healthy meals at home, and encourage my kids to choose water over soda. The epidemic of childhood obesity is a shame to America. We feed our children food that is stuffed with unhealthy and unnatural ingredients. I want my children to grow up eating healthily, so when they are teenagers or young adults, they don't have to suddenly realize that what they've been eating for the past decade or so could cause many diseases in the future.
     3. Questions!
           As a previous home-schooler, (once a home-schooler, always a home-schooler!), I can weigh the pros and cons of home based education versus public school. I have recently developed a taste for learning. I want to learn about the great minds of the years before us, about art, music, literature, anything that can satiate my thirst for knowledge. With my children, I hope to pass on this thirst for learning. I am content (even a little excited!) to educate my children. I think that home-schooling K-7 is a good idea for many reasons. I can give my kids a unique education that is not attainable in a current public school. While learning science and language arts, I hope to also educate my kids about all of the aforementioned topics that I am eager to learn about. By learning them at such an early age, they will be well prepared by the time the reach college-age. While their peers are struggling to differentiate between Nietzsche and Kafka, hopefully my kids will be able to discuss their ideas with a strong intellectual background. I hope that my family can learn together, the dinner table serving as an open floor of discussion.
     4. Love.
          It seems pretty basic. As a mother, my job is to take care of the family. However, I want to reach beyond the generalizations of a stay-at-home mom and really love my kids. I want to love them when they're screaming my name at the top of their lungs because so-and-so took their toy and won't give it back. I want to love them and help them when their heart is broken for the first time. I want to love them when they are discovering who they are as adults and need someone to guide them. I want to look at them and know that I have given every part of my heart to them. Whoever they turn out to be, I want to know that I have raised them in a loving home, and provided a model of what a home should be like.

     All of these ideals seem perfect when they're written on paper, but can I guarantee any of this will happen? Of course not. All I can do is pray, hope, and love everyone around me until my little monsters arrive.