What I Am Thankful For

My daughters are like two pockets full of sunshine in that they are so very much themselves and I am always impressed by them and amazed that I had children and those children are these two wierd and intelligent and fearless and energetic and enthusiastic people who are not at all like me.
I suppose it's what you get when children are a little spoiled as mine are, they have a feeling of entitlement. They think they are supposed to have things when they need them in spite of the fact we live below the poverty level. We do make fantastic efforts to see every need is met, but I am not Wonder Woman. My youngest informed me she need a laptop computer pronto. My magic wand is all out of power as my wallet is out of money. She is serene. She knows that somehow I'll find a way.
If you love them they grow up with a tough skin and a confidence that cannot be shaken later on. My daughter, who used to sing with a blanket over her head she was so shy, is now in the regional choir as the seventh soprano. We just told her she could sing, over and over and I guess she believed.
My eldest loves small children. She was able to get a job as a teacher's assistant. How blessed to do work that you love! I am so happy for her. Small kids fill her with energy and sparkle and she brings home tales of what this little boy or girl did all the time. She usually finishes by saying, "And they were so CUTE!" She is going to college to be a kindergarten teacher.
Actually our house is more like Rosanne's than Everybody Loves Raymond. We fight and yell a lot. My kids do very little around the house and washing dishes is out of the question. On the other hand, we are not model parents for we lost the power somehow to tell them what to do and them pay attention.
Oh well.
If they tell me to jump into the lake I am glad at least that they are able to tell me that. When I was a kid I didn't dare disagree with my parents and my Dad had a mean backhand slap. So in a way it's all kind of bittersweet.