On Angela's post of this question, the number one answer was children! Some people never wanted to, or never thought they would be parents, and then when they were--surprise, surprise! They were thankful.
This made me think of my friend L, who was dating B, but he didn't want children. L really did, so this was becoming an issue in their relationship. B wanted to marry L, but L said, "Well, there is no way that I am getting married and NOT having children so if you want to marry me, you have to want children." So, reluctantly, B became a father to M, and he LOVED it. He loved it so much that he said to L, "Being parents is so much fun! Let's have 12!" And L said, "Slow down, cowboy, I said I wanted children, but I didn't say anything about 12!" (They had three.)
Other people mentioned leadership roles in various organizations--they didn't see themselves as leaders, and yet, when they stepped up, they learned and grew and were grateful.
This is what I wrote in answer to that question: Having to be the breadwinner. I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom with a bajillion children. Instead, I have always had to work, but because I had to, I pursued lots of education, and have had lots of experiences that I could not have had otherwise. And my children survived having a working mom! They turned out pretty great, honestly. So, I am thankful for that different life path that was not what I expected.
One answer that someone gave was moving--sometimes moving is really hard, but it can turn out to be a blessing. We have moved a lot--probably too much--but each move has been a blessing to someone. Moving to Utah was super hard, and it took years of adjustment for most of us, but if we hadn't moved when we did and where we did, would Nancy have met Andrew? I am grateful those two met; I think they are perfect for each other.
This made me think of my friend L, who was dating B, but he didn't want children. L really did, so this was becoming an issue in their relationship. B wanted to marry L, but L said, "Well, there is no way that I am getting married and NOT having children so if you want to marry me, you have to want children." So, reluctantly, B became a father to M, and he LOVED it. He loved it so much that he said to L, "Being parents is so much fun! Let's have 12!" And L said, "Slow down, cowboy, I said I wanted children, but I didn't say anything about 12!" (They had three.)
Other people mentioned leadership roles in various organizations--they didn't see themselves as leaders, and yet, when they stepped up, they learned and grew and were grateful.
This is what I wrote in answer to that question: Having to be the breadwinner. I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom with a bajillion children. Instead, I have always had to work, but because I had to, I pursued lots of education, and have had lots of experiences that I could not have had otherwise. And my children survived having a working mom! They turned out pretty great, honestly. So, I am thankful for that different life path that was not what I expected.
One answer that someone gave was moving--sometimes moving is really hard, but it can turn out to be a blessing. We have moved a lot--probably too much--but each move has been a blessing to someone. Moving to Utah was super hard, and it took years of adjustment for most of us, but if we hadn't moved when we did and where we did, would Nancy have met Andrew? I am grateful those two met; I think they are perfect for each other.
2 comments:
I enjoyed this!
Thanks, Mom! Andrew is pretty great. :) And so are you!
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