A proud mom

This isn't about weight loss, but about the ones that are inspiring me to do it. I love my children. I am so grateful that their keeping is trusted to me. They are great children. My oldest is well on his way to becoming a man, which breaks my heart and makes me proud at the same time. He just came back from two weeks at his father's, and while I feel that his dad is a great dad and a good person, we have wildly different religious beliefs and therefore, rather different world views. Patrick has chosen to follow my beliefs instead of his father's, and it has taken him incredible spiritual fortitude to be immersed in a situation that is so uncomfortable for him. His father apparently had a spiritual awakening the other day and had gone from a "Sunday Christian" to an "at the church if the doors are open" Christian. This has been a struggle for Pat. He is learning tolerance though, which is an important thing to have as part of a minority religion. He is leaning that people who don't believe in the same gods as us are not our enemies because they believe something different. He is learning to be respectful and reverent in the presence of other people's gods. He asked me today if I thought he would be a good leader when he is grown. He wants other heathens to look up to him. I am so proud of him.

I'm not leaving Jackson out. I wanted to take the time to give each child his time. Jackson is such an emotional and creative child. I see so much of myself in him- good and bad. He has that passion and energy that sometimes turns to rage in a blink. He loves as fiercely as he hates. He becomes so immersed in his art. He draws on absolutely everything! He is a storyteller, and an adventurer. He has no idea what modesty is, and it never occurs to him that he might not be able to do something. He's not the slightest bit shy, and can make friends without trying. Other children are drawn to him, even though he prefers the company of adults. He's been able to hold a conversation with a grown person since he was old enough to talk. I asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. Not missing a beat, he announced "I'm going to be a video game designer. Oh, and I'm going to write comic books too." He knows that his creativity is a strength and he nourishes it. I hope I can do the same thing. When we were on our way to pick Patrick up today, he told me he wanted pizza for dinner. I told him that was fine, but he'd have to buy it. Normally, this means no one gets pizza but him (he can be a little selfish sometimes), but today he said "I'm gonna ask Patrick if he wants some pizza too! It'll be my treat because I'm so glad he's coming home."

I love my kids. I'm glad they're mine.