Daughters (and sons too :-)

This is an early Father’s Day post but the truth is it could also be a late Mother’s Day post. This past Saturday was the Father-Daughter dance at Gracie’s school. She is wearing the dress that Craig and I got her from Mexico. It was another take-my-breath-away moment when I realized how much older she is getting. Doesn’t she look so beautiful next to my handsome husband! She was nervous but they had a wonderful time going out on a date to eat dinner, just the two of them, though, she reported back that at the restaurant they were surrounded by families with kids making noises, she said they just can’t get away from it J.  They went to the dance and out for ice cream afterwards. A night of memories for both of them.

It is so important to cultivate a relationship with our kids. It is even harder as you have more children or even as your children get older and can be involved in more activities or have a job. But they are looking for a relationship with us, one that will define the kind of relationships they will have when they are older.  There is a song by John Mayer called “Daughters” (the song is about daughters but the same is true for our sons) that has the lyrics, “Father’s be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do.” It goes on to basically give the same advice to mothers, as they (could) one day be mothers too. That is one heck of a responsibility: to be cultivating relationships with our kids that can shape the relationships they could have with their significant others later in life and as their life as a parent (should they choose to go that path).  We will teach them how to love, how to nurture, how to react to life. Some days, I feel like I do a pretty poor job. As one friends said today, “I am now out of the running for the Mother of the Year Contest.” But I’m glad we have a God that has shown us grace when we stumble and gives us more opportunities to try again, to live modeling the same love, compassion, grace and mercy as Jesus. New are God’s mercies everyday…THANK GOD J!

Well I think I will listen to John Mayer one more time and sniffle over how fast my daughter is growing up!

Daughters by John Mayer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhopziNunsI&feature=related