Today my son, my baby, my second and last-born, my unexpected blessing from the Lord, turns 11. For 11 years now, our lives have been in a constant state of learning what it means to live with this boy! There have been lots of laughs. There have been tears. There have been stitches, bumps, bruises, knee infections and so much more. There have been hugs and kisses and snuggles galore.
We don’t do friend birthday parties every year. I am not that mom that has a plethora of ideas and energy to have half-a-dozen boys running amok in my house every year. And the blessing is, my children know this and are fine with it. This year, Ty wanted to have one friend over for a few hours. That was the PERFECT solution for me as this week has been insane. We met my parents for dinner out and then came back home for cake and ice cream.
It is easy to celebrate our children on their birthdays. We tend to make a big deal of them as we sing to them, make or buy them a special meal, and feed them cake and ice cream to their heart’s content.
But what about the other 364 days of the year? Are we celebrating the little things in their lives, too?
When was the last time you celebrated when your child actually got their room clean – almost to mommy standards?
Or how about when they brought that C up to a B+ in the subject they struggle in?
Have you ever celebrated with your child when they did the right thing and befriended the new kid in school that was feeling left out?
Or jumped for joy with them when they overcame a major fear and rode that roller coaster?
There are little accomplishments our children make every day, and while we don’t need to go overboard and make a big deal about every little thing, it is important that our children know that we are paying attention to their lives and want to encourage and celebrate with them when they accomplish something that is important to them, to us, and to God. It doesn’t take much. A high-five. A woo-hoo. A trip to Dairy Queen. A special privilege.
Keep your eyes open, and make reasons to celebrate your children daily!