First Impressions

Here is a photo you might remember from the days of counting hours since hatching.  Below is a photo almost a month after the hatching of Baby Chick and his posse.  The picture to the right shows five chicks while the picture below shows the three lightest colored chicks foraging in the safety of the chicken coop.  Like children, chicks grow quickly.

Tonight I had basketball practice with Chloe.  She is on a great team of nine girls in 3rd and 4th grade.  I remember changing her diaper and now she is learning how to slam dunk.  Yikes!

Everyday seems like a new adventure when you navigate the parent waters.  You learn something new about your child and also about being a parent almost daily.  There can be a thousand books written to give advice and tips on good and effective parenting, but each of us travels a different path.  No two children are alike, no two pregnancies are alike and no two births are alike.

If you ever walk in on the birth story conversation among mothers it is a frightening storytelling adventure.  So many versions of the same event.  It is very traumatizing for those who have never done it before.  I think every teenage girl should be allowed to listen in on the birth story adventures to promote abstinence.  I know many of my teenage students who studied dance with me during either or both pregnancies were sure they wanted to avoid getting pregnant any time soon.  Happily, I didn't scar them for their entire lives because many have gone on to marry and have one or more children.

I'm sure one day my own children will grow up and become parents some day and even my baby chicks might, as well.  Every story will be different and unique.  A reminder of the beautifulness each one of us has to share.  If you don't know your birth story, ask your mom.  If you no longer have a parent to ask, try to remember the stories your parents told about you growing up.  Share those stories with your children.  Birth stories are such a special part of who we are...they are our first impression.  Sadly, I wasn't born with a tiara.  Goodnight Friends.