They're My Dreams Not Hers...

I think that as parents one lesson (out of a billion that I don't have the handbook for) that you have to learn right at the get go is to let your children have their own dreams. From the moment that I found out that I was pregnant with each of  my children my head was flooded with what they might be, who they may become, my dreams, and my wishes for them. As quick as those thoughts came, I had to tuck them away and let them have their own personalities, their own thoughts, their own wishes, their own dreams. I have to gently and lovingly guide them through their own experiences and lessons of life, not push them into the ways I wish them to go. I have to remind myself of this daily. This week Lizzi came home telling me she wanted to be a cheerleader. My head was spinning with reasons to tell her no (so much drama, so much commitment, my own negative experiences). Instead I told her I would talk to Nathan about it and would let her know. My hopes were that he would say no and that would be that. Alas, this was not the case. Nathan realizes (probably much better than I) that our children need to be able to find their own likes and dislikes. We talked about it and I told him why I thought I should talk her out of it and his answer was that she may not have the same experiences with it as I did, and even if she did this was a life lesson that she would need to learn. I realized that I would need to be her "cheerleader", talk to her about all the benefits and commitments that it would mean, and be there for her when she will need someone to celebrate with or her shoulder to cry on. So I filled out all the paperwork, let her know that I know she will do her very best, and doing what I can to help her to be ready for tryouts on Saturday.