I'm writing Friday Forum on Sunday, because on Friday I decided to watch the talented Robert Downy Jr. in his Iron Man 2 movie, instead. It was worth it. However, I want to continue with our Friday Forum tradition, since it gives me a chance to express and share memories from my life with my children. It is a great way to write down things about my life that my children would enjoy reading later on when they grow up. It's also a way for our extended family to share their thoughts and memories with all of us, and record them for future generations.
So, today the theme is Children and Animals, and how we can teach our children to love animals. My father-in-law suggested the theme, and I was excited to think of the fun pets I used to have, as well as fun stories from my life. As he mentioned it to me in his email, teaching our children to love animals helps them learn responsibility, accountability, and caring for others. Here are some questions I thought relating to this theme (you don't have to answer all of them, just whichever you like the best):
What were some of your favorite pets you had growing up?
For as long as I can remember, my family has had cats as pets. My brother would find abandoned puppies in the side of the road, but they were so damaged that they would die a few days later. We had to be satisfied with cats. My favorite cat was called Pomanok. One of our family friends had taken care of the cat since it was a kitten, but this cat had grown very big and wild, and wasn't very satisfied with apartment life and had started tearing curtains and coaches to shreds. Pomanok was very independent and proud, and it took me a while to be his friend, partly because Pomanok's 'master' would come every day with fresh meat while I would give him only left overs, and partly because it took a while for Pomanok to warm up to people. I saw my friendship with him as a challenge and kept at it. Finally, we became the best of friends. It taught him to trust me, and it helped me have faith in myself and never quit. He even preferred sleeping by my feet at night, something he had never done with the previous owner.
We have had many cat pets since then, and my mother still cares for stray cats and kittens that her friend brings often to this day. However, Pomanok will always be my cat.
How do you teach children to love animals when you can't have pets around?
Right now, we can't have pets in our house, but that doesn't mean that my children don't love animals. I think it is natural for children to want to learn and love animals. Here are some of the things I've done to help them learn and enjoy the living creatures God has created for us.
1. I've always taken them to the Zoo, and of course the petting zoo is their favorite. Every time I go, I make sure I read to them the labels on each of the fences that surround each animal.
2. We read a lot about many different animals. I think my children know way more about living creatures than I ever knew. We even dedicate one day of the week to read only books about animals. They love to learn about them. Charlton surprises me at his very young age with his interest and love for animals. If he sees any book with animal pictures on it, he will get very excited and would want me to read it right away. He also loves to touch any living animal that we see in our walks or outings. He gets hysterical when he sees dogs, even ten times bigger than him, and will always approach them, touch them and kiss their nose.
3. We've read a lot of classics that deal with friendships between little children and animals. My children's favorite classics about animals are Shiloh, Because of Winn-Dixie, Where the Red Ferns Grow, Farmer Boy, Charlotte's Webb, The Cricket in Times Square, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, with their favorite animal stories being Old Yeller/Savage Sam, and My side of the mountain. All of these stories have great messages and are a joy to read. Most of them have been made into movies, and they will always be classics in our home.
3. My children are very interested in family stories. They ask Elijah and me quite often to share our stories relating to various animals. Elijah happens to have a lot of them, since he lived in a vast property with a lot of dogs, farm animals, and wild ones as well. His stories of finding and sometimes killing snakes in their back yard satisfy Jefferson's thirst for snake stories quite well. While in Virginia, we would take our children every two months down to Georgia, where they could live and enjoy the life in the country even for a little bit. My in-laws have several dogs and that was a bonus for my children. Gillian would always ask her grandparents for childhood memories relating to animals. I need to write them all down, and have my children read them while we live far away from family.
What are your children's favorite animals?
When I asked my children today what were their favorite animals they would like to keep as pets, I was totally taken back by their answers. I had to be more specific and ask them what kind of animals they would more likely keep as pets. Here are their answers:
First set of animals
Gillian - Elephant/Cheetah
Jefferson - Anaconda/Spitting Cobra
James - Honey Badger
Second Set of animals
Gillian - Puppy
Jefferson - Parrot/Hawk
James - Puppy
I think the puppy will have to do.
Showing posts with label Friday Forum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Forum. Show all posts
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Childhood memories
"There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book." Marcel Proust
Today, I took James and Charlton swimming at one of my friends' swimming pool. James and his friends swam and had a great time playing in the water, Charlton and his girlfriends shared food and blew kisses at each other, and my friends and I chatted and relaxed under the sun.
Later on, after I picked up my older children from school, we headed to the swim lessons. Gillian and Jefferson are doing so well with their swimming. I am impressed with them, since they haven't taken many lessons so far, just a two week training in the spring. Charlton was waving and throwing kisses at them.
As I watched my children swim, I couldn't help but remember my childhood, spending three entire summer months every year just swimming, bathing in the sun, and enjoying my friends' company. So, I thought for today's Friday Forum, we could share our favorite childhood memories and what made them so special.
I had a very happy childhood. I was blessed to have good parents, kind neighbors, and a safe environment to grow up. I was always a happy and sweet child. I had a lot of friends, and many hobbies. My childhood memories are numerous, but I'll share just a few here.
I loved summers. Everyday, my friends, my brother, and I would take the 10 minute bus ride to the beach and spend the day there. I loved those days, laying on the sand reading, playing ball with friends, rowing boats, and swimming for long periods of time. Sundays were my favorite. My parents would join us. Sometimes, we would stay there till dinner time, and then come home, shower, eat dinner, and go out for the evening stroll. We would sit at a cafe or a pastry shop and our parents would buy us ice cream or various pastries. My friends' families would do the same, so I would always see my friends there as well. The stroll would take us by the sea shore, and to this day one of my favorite smells is the aromatic smell of the sea. At times, my parents would bring dinner with us, and we would stay at the beach till the late hours of the afternoon, or even early evening. My memory is full of beautiful sunsets by the sea, being the only ones swimming in the water at that hour. These memories are special, because they bring peace and happy thoughts into my mind. They help me remember what's important in life, and I try to implement that with my children. Peace and harmony are two qualities I work hard to integrate into our family life.
Another fond memory of mine involves reading, family, and independence. Since at an early age, I found myself attracted to books. I was mesmerized by stories, imagination, and the written language. Recognizing this quality of mine, my mother nonchalantly informed me one day that I was allowed to pick up any book in our library and read whatever I wanted. You see, she didn't have many picture books, but she did have many classics, children's and otherwise, and there was no danger of finding any books with bad language or inappropriate for me there to read. I grew up reading Shakespeare and Plato alongside Pipi Longstocking and Doctor Doolittle. And I didn't think anything of it, since I was the student and the instructor of myself. As we grew older, and especially after my father passed away, I got more and more time to read. I laugh every time I remember the scenes at my house in the late hours of the night. While my mother and my brother would play chess, I would be reading my books. My mother would play chess till she won, but even those cases when she won, my brother would let her win, because he desperately needed to go to sleep. It doesn't sound like something a responsible parent should do, letting her kids stay very late, when they really needed to sleep and feel rested for the next day. However, I'm eternally grateful to her for letting me read. At that time of my life, I was very busy, attending middle school, taking private lessons for English, French, German and Italian, studying for school, keeping house, and so on. Reading was my passion, and the evening was the time to pursue it. I would read a book a day trying to finish before school started, and I loved it. Sometimes, when I catch myself now staying very late reading, I feel as if nothing has changed since those days. Life was busy then with school responsibilities and is busy now with family responsibilities. But I always try to find time for myself and my interests. My love affair with books is important to me. It makes me who I am. It also helps me be a better mother, wife, and individual.
The last memory I'm going to share always makes me grateful for inspired teachers. I was a freshman in High School, and as every student then and now, I had wonderful teacher as well as incompetent ones. Guess who my favorite teacher was! Yes, you guessed it right, my literature teacher. I was so blessed to have had her. She immediately recognized my love for literature, my passion for reading, and the accumulated knowledge I possessed. I fondly remember my teacher letting me recite verses from Homer's Odyssey while she taught the class about Homer. She would ask me to add to her lesson by sharing my personal thoughts about the author or his works if I wanted to. When we started studying Shakespeare, she would ask me to read or recite verses I knew from his plays. I wasn't arrogant during this kind of treatment. Because I loved literature so much, I felt in awe speaking about these special people. My friends in class didn't mind. Some of them were happy that it wasn't them up there, and the others just enjoyed listening something so different from their textbooks. One time, my teacher asked us what we were reading at the moment, and I was thrilled to tell her that I was reading "Love in the time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a big book for a little girl in high school. She asked me if I wanted to write a book report, and then present it in front of the class,the next day. I was ecstatic, but scared. I wasn't done with the whole book, and I wasn't sure I could do it. Not wanting to disappoint my teacher, I said yes, and stayed up all night, literally all night, to finish the book and the report. My presentation lasted the whole two hour block we were assigned for Literature. My teacher never gave any signs of boredom or worry. In the end of the class, she congratulated me on a job well done, and encouraged us to read and expand our horizon. The ability and the talents were within us. This all may sound just normal, but you need to consider this was communist Albania, where the teacher taught from the textbook, and the students recited from the textbooks. What my teacher and I were doing was extraordinary; we were showing independence and courage. We were being different. I loved her for encouraging me to be myself, to believe in myself, and to express my opinions with courage.
Our memories may take us to far away lands or next door. They may bring into remembrance people and events. Mostly, however, our memories bring emotions. I'm blessed to have good memories of my childhood. They bring happy feelings to my heart, and I'm grateful for my family, friends, and everyone else who had a part in making them beautiful.
Later on, after I picked up my older children from school, we headed to the swim lessons. Gillian and Jefferson are doing so well with their swimming. I am impressed with them, since they haven't taken many lessons so far, just a two week training in the spring. Charlton was waving and throwing kisses at them.
As I watched my children swim, I couldn't help but remember my childhood, spending three entire summer months every year just swimming, bathing in the sun, and enjoying my friends' company. So, I thought for today's Friday Forum, we could share our favorite childhood memories and what made them so special.
I had a very happy childhood. I was blessed to have good parents, kind neighbors, and a safe environment to grow up. I was always a happy and sweet child. I had a lot of friends, and many hobbies. My childhood memories are numerous, but I'll share just a few here.
I loved summers. Everyday, my friends, my brother, and I would take the 10 minute bus ride to the beach and spend the day there. I loved those days, laying on the sand reading, playing ball with friends, rowing boats, and swimming for long periods of time. Sundays were my favorite. My parents would join us. Sometimes, we would stay there till dinner time, and then come home, shower, eat dinner, and go out for the evening stroll. We would sit at a cafe or a pastry shop and our parents would buy us ice cream or various pastries. My friends' families would do the same, so I would always see my friends there as well. The stroll would take us by the sea shore, and to this day one of my favorite smells is the aromatic smell of the sea. At times, my parents would bring dinner with us, and we would stay at the beach till the late hours of the afternoon, or even early evening. My memory is full of beautiful sunsets by the sea, being the only ones swimming in the water at that hour. These memories are special, because they bring peace and happy thoughts into my mind. They help me remember what's important in life, and I try to implement that with my children. Peace and harmony are two qualities I work hard to integrate into our family life.
Another fond memory of mine involves reading, family, and independence. Since at an early age, I found myself attracted to books. I was mesmerized by stories, imagination, and the written language. Recognizing this quality of mine, my mother nonchalantly informed me one day that I was allowed to pick up any book in our library and read whatever I wanted. You see, she didn't have many picture books, but she did have many classics, children's and otherwise, and there was no danger of finding any books with bad language or inappropriate for me there to read. I grew up reading Shakespeare and Plato alongside Pipi Longstocking and Doctor Doolittle. And I didn't think anything of it, since I was the student and the instructor of myself. As we grew older, and especially after my father passed away, I got more and more time to read. I laugh every time I remember the scenes at my house in the late hours of the night. While my mother and my brother would play chess, I would be reading my books. My mother would play chess till she won, but even those cases when she won, my brother would let her win, because he desperately needed to go to sleep. It doesn't sound like something a responsible parent should do, letting her kids stay very late, when they really needed to sleep and feel rested for the next day. However, I'm eternally grateful to her for letting me read. At that time of my life, I was very busy, attending middle school, taking private lessons for English, French, German and Italian, studying for school, keeping house, and so on. Reading was my passion, and the evening was the time to pursue it. I would read a book a day trying to finish before school started, and I loved it. Sometimes, when I catch myself now staying very late reading, I feel as if nothing has changed since those days. Life was busy then with school responsibilities and is busy now with family responsibilities. But I always try to find time for myself and my interests. My love affair with books is important to me. It makes me who I am. It also helps me be a better mother, wife, and individual.
The last memory I'm going to share always makes me grateful for inspired teachers. I was a freshman in High School, and as every student then and now, I had wonderful teacher as well as incompetent ones. Guess who my favorite teacher was! Yes, you guessed it right, my literature teacher. I was so blessed to have had her. She immediately recognized my love for literature, my passion for reading, and the accumulated knowledge I possessed. I fondly remember my teacher letting me recite verses from Homer's Odyssey while she taught the class about Homer. She would ask me to add to her lesson by sharing my personal thoughts about the author or his works if I wanted to. When we started studying Shakespeare, she would ask me to read or recite verses I knew from his plays. I wasn't arrogant during this kind of treatment. Because I loved literature so much, I felt in awe speaking about these special people. My friends in class didn't mind. Some of them were happy that it wasn't them up there, and the others just enjoyed listening something so different from their textbooks. One time, my teacher asked us what we were reading at the moment, and I was thrilled to tell her that I was reading "Love in the time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a big book for a little girl in high school. She asked me if I wanted to write a book report, and then present it in front of the class,the next day. I was ecstatic, but scared. I wasn't done with the whole book, and I wasn't sure I could do it. Not wanting to disappoint my teacher, I said yes, and stayed up all night, literally all night, to finish the book and the report. My presentation lasted the whole two hour block we were assigned for Literature. My teacher never gave any signs of boredom or worry. In the end of the class, she congratulated me on a job well done, and encouraged us to read and expand our horizon. The ability and the talents were within us. This all may sound just normal, but you need to consider this was communist Albania, where the teacher taught from the textbook, and the students recited from the textbooks. What my teacher and I were doing was extraordinary; we were showing independence and courage. We were being different. I loved her for encouraging me to be myself, to believe in myself, and to express my opinions with courage.
Our memories may take us to far away lands or next door. They may bring into remembrance people and events. Mostly, however, our memories bring emotions. I'm blessed to have good memories of my childhood. They bring happy feelings to my heart, and I'm grateful for my family, friends, and everyone else who had a part in making them beautiful.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Music of the heart
Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato
I grew up in a communist country. As a child I didn't think much about it, and I can't say I had a hard time. On the contrary, our parents made sure that we were surrounded by the good things of life, music and literature being two of them.
During communism, the Albanian TV was controlled by the government. I remember watching specific programs on different days of the week. Programs didn't start till 6:00 p.m. each day, with the exception of Sunday, on which day it started at 10:00 a.m. On Monday, there was traditional Albanian music. On Tuesday, we looked forward to watching a movie. The whole family could watch the movie, since even the slightest kiss was censored, so it was pretty safe. On Wednesday, we would watch historical documentaries, or animal shows. I don't remember what we watched on Thursday. However, I clearly remember that I would wait for the whole week to watch my favorite show televised on Friday, Classical Music Selections. They would show various arias from famous operas, instrumental pieces, ballet selections, and many symphonies. I continued my love for classical music by listening to the radio every evening, where I learned about the musicians who made those pieces as well. I've fond memories of my family and I watching The Vienna Orchestra playing Strauss every New Year's Day. The Blue Danube is pleasantly engraved in my mind forever. If you came in my room during those early years of Middle School and High School, my walls would be full of posters of great literary minds, composers, and copies of famous paintings. That change when my brother took over my room later on.
As I grew older, my obsession with classical music became stronger. I would listen to Turandot for hours, and I would always replay Nessun Dorma many times. I would take it all in with open eyes and ears as I watched the playful Carmen sing and dance. I bought and read books that told me about all the musicians. Even now, every time I get biographies for the children to read, I snick one about some classical music composer. To this day, one of my favorite movies remains Casta Diva: A Romanticized Biography of Bellini. I've attended numerous operas, ballets, symphonies, and concerts. I've heard the great tenors and sopranos of our times. And I continue to listen to Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, every day at home. I look forward to taking Gillian very soon to see Verdi's Aida in San Francisco. All this, because this kind of music speaks to my soul. No other music touches me as profoundly as classical music. It enters my being and for some definite moments while listening to it, I feel I'm part of the universe that surrounds me, floating tenderly like a feather.
As you might have guessed, today's Friday Forum's subject is about music. When I thought of this topic, I told myself that it would be quite impossible to share our favorite songs and musicians of all time, since I personally have favorites from every decade of last century. I also love more than one kind of genre. So, I decided to start my post today with my story of how I got to love classical music. I would love to hear your stories of how you got acquainted with your kind of music, and how does that particular music touch you. I also thought of some questions that we can share about our musical favorites. They are there just to give a direction to our discussion, but don't feel that you should answer everyone of them.
1. What's your favorite musical genre and why?
Classical Music. I love it that there so many options to listen to, a variety of operas, symphonies, ballets, etc. This kind of music takes me to a different reality where music is the language of our hearts. It calms me, and it takes away all the stresses of the day. My favorite thing to do while listening is sitting comfortably and listening with my eyes closed. I'm a better person, afterward.
2. What are some other genres you like to listen to?
I like Blue Grass, Big Band music, and I listen to a lot of New Age Pop. I also love Christmas music.
3.What do you listen to at home and in the car?
I listen to my favorite operas in the morning, Bethoven, Tchaikovski, Mozart, and the likes after lunch. In the car, I always listen to the Top Hits stations.
4. What are some of your favorite songs?
Even if I left the operas aside, I could take all night thinking and typing. So, I'm just going to share what I've liked these past months, and I'm going to include only English speaking ones. I like Lady Antebellum's I need you now, Hoobastank's The reason is you, Michael Buble's I haven't met you yet, all of Kelly Clarkson's songs, especially Because of you, Already gone, and My life would suck without you, Josh Groban's songs, especially You raised me up, John Mayor's songs, especially Heartbreak Warfare, Taylor Swift's You belong with me, and Mine, and goodness, so many more that I listen to every day.
5. What are some of your favorite bands/musicians?
I love U2, Beach Boys, The Doors, Bon Jovi, The Pretenders, The Beattles, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Alison Krauss, Flats and Scruggs, and many more.
6. What does a song have to have to touch you?
I like a good combination of good lyrics and beautiful melody. It has to be clean. And the singer needs to be talented. I tend to like love songs with clean language and story. I also like songs that I can identify with, or that have a powerful message.
Music is such a part of our lives that we sometimes take it for granted. I listen to various kinds of music throughout the day, and I'm grateful for the joy it brings to my soul.
I grew up in a communist country. As a child I didn't think much about it, and I can't say I had a hard time. On the contrary, our parents made sure that we were surrounded by the good things of life, music and literature being two of them.
During communism, the Albanian TV was controlled by the government. I remember watching specific programs on different days of the week. Programs didn't start till 6:00 p.m. each day, with the exception of Sunday, on which day it started at 10:00 a.m. On Monday, there was traditional Albanian music. On Tuesday, we looked forward to watching a movie. The whole family could watch the movie, since even the slightest kiss was censored, so it was pretty safe. On Wednesday, we would watch historical documentaries, or animal shows. I don't remember what we watched on Thursday. However, I clearly remember that I would wait for the whole week to watch my favorite show televised on Friday, Classical Music Selections. They would show various arias from famous operas, instrumental pieces, ballet selections, and many symphonies. I continued my love for classical music by listening to the radio every evening, where I learned about the musicians who made those pieces as well. I've fond memories of my family and I watching The Vienna Orchestra playing Strauss every New Year's Day. The Blue Danube is pleasantly engraved in my mind forever. If you came in my room during those early years of Middle School and High School, my walls would be full of posters of great literary minds, composers, and copies of famous paintings. That change when my brother took over my room later on.
As I grew older, my obsession with classical music became stronger. I would listen to Turandot for hours, and I would always replay Nessun Dorma many times. I would take it all in with open eyes and ears as I watched the playful Carmen sing and dance. I bought and read books that told me about all the musicians. Even now, every time I get biographies for the children to read, I snick one about some classical music composer. To this day, one of my favorite movies remains Casta Diva: A Romanticized Biography of Bellini. I've attended numerous operas, ballets, symphonies, and concerts. I've heard the great tenors and sopranos of our times. And I continue to listen to Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, every day at home. I look forward to taking Gillian very soon to see Verdi's Aida in San Francisco. All this, because this kind of music speaks to my soul. No other music touches me as profoundly as classical music. It enters my being and for some definite moments while listening to it, I feel I'm part of the universe that surrounds me, floating tenderly like a feather.
As you might have guessed, today's Friday Forum's subject is about music. When I thought of this topic, I told myself that it would be quite impossible to share our favorite songs and musicians of all time, since I personally have favorites from every decade of last century. I also love more than one kind of genre. So, I decided to start my post today with my story of how I got to love classical music. I would love to hear your stories of how you got acquainted with your kind of music, and how does that particular music touch you. I also thought of some questions that we can share about our musical favorites. They are there just to give a direction to our discussion, but don't feel that you should answer everyone of them.
1. What's your favorite musical genre and why?
Classical Music. I love it that there so many options to listen to, a variety of operas, symphonies, ballets, etc. This kind of music takes me to a different reality where music is the language of our hearts. It calms me, and it takes away all the stresses of the day. My favorite thing to do while listening is sitting comfortably and listening with my eyes closed. I'm a better person, afterward.
2. What are some other genres you like to listen to?
I like Blue Grass, Big Band music, and I listen to a lot of New Age Pop. I also love Christmas music.
3.What do you listen to at home and in the car?
I listen to my favorite operas in the morning, Bethoven, Tchaikovski, Mozart, and the likes after lunch. In the car, I always listen to the Top Hits stations.
4. What are some of your favorite songs?
Even if I left the operas aside, I could take all night thinking and typing. So, I'm just going to share what I've liked these past months, and I'm going to include only English speaking ones. I like Lady Antebellum's I need you now, Hoobastank's The reason is you, Michael Buble's I haven't met you yet, all of Kelly Clarkson's songs, especially Because of you, Already gone, and My life would suck without you, Josh Groban's songs, especially You raised me up, John Mayor's songs, especially Heartbreak Warfare, Taylor Swift's You belong with me, and Mine, and goodness, so many more that I listen to every day.
5. What are some of your favorite bands/musicians?
I love U2, Beach Boys, The Doors, Bon Jovi, The Pretenders, The Beattles, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Alison Krauss, Flats and Scruggs, and many more.
6. What does a song have to have to touch you?
I like a good combination of good lyrics and beautiful melody. It has to be clean. And the singer needs to be talented. I tend to like love songs with clean language and story. I also like songs that I can identify with, or that have a powerful message.
Music is such a part of our lives that we sometimes take it for granted. I listen to various kinds of music throughout the day, and I'm grateful for the joy it brings to my soul.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Confidence or Pompousness?
Yesterday, I was reading one of my friends' blog, and I really enjoyed it. I usually don't duplicate what others write about, but I thought her topic would be a great one to share with everyone. She asked her readers to share with her top 10 things they like about themselves. Then, she proceeded by sharing her top 10 that she likes about herself, which were right on the dot of what I like about her. She also shared what her children wrote about themselves. After reading her post, I continued reading the comments, because it's just fun to read what others say about themselves. And then, I felt the urge to share my top 10 as well. At that time I felt that it was a good list, funny, but honest, and that it showed a lot of confidence. Without delay, here it is:
Top 10 things I like about myself
1. I love life.
2. I love learning about everything.
3. I'm brilliant (this sounded honest, but it's sounding more and more pompous).
4. I'm pretty.
5. I'm pure and loving.
6. I'm an overachiever.
7. I read more than anyone I know.
8. I take a genuine interest in people.
9. I'm Humble (this was a joke; after realizing how silly my list sounded, I had to add humility in it.)
10. I love myself. (Really; I wouldn't have guessed.)
I didn't think much after I wrote this list, but today when I asked my children what are some things that they like about themselves, their answers put me to shame. Instead of feeling that my list showed confidence, I felt it showed pompousness. The following answers of my children are their exact words, and the only urging I did was to change direction from talking about mom to talking about themselves. Here are the lists:
Gillian
1. I'm obedient to my parents.
2. I'm good at taking care of my brothers.
3. I like that I want to help people be happy.
4. I like that I'm neat; I want to have a clean house.
5. I'm happy about my decision of getting baptized.
6. I like the way I look.
7. I like having a lot of friends.
8. I like it that I'm grateful for my mother and father. I like it that that gives me a check on my good list in Heaven.
9. I like it that I read a lot of books.
10. I'm thankful that I have a lot of talents like running fast, writing good stories, reading well, loving my family, sharing with others.
Jefferson
1. I like it that I have a nice mom and dad.
2. That I can run fast
3. Climb well
4. I'm good at gymnastics.
5. I'm reading a lot of books on my own.
6. I'm thoughtful and pick flowers for my mother every day.
7. I'm good at games. (I can beat dad at monopoly, and Abel at chess.)
8. I like it that I can do experiments.
9. I like that I'm smart.
10. I like that I have a Heavenly Father and Jesus that love and protect me.
James
1. I'm good at running and climbing.
2. I love it that I have a mom who takes me everywhere.
3. I love that I have a mom who reads to me, plays with me, and takes me to the Zoo, and sometimes lets me watch T.V.
4. I'm very, very good at exercising.
5. I'm very good at learning how to read.
6. I'm very good at playing with my brothers and sister, and friends.
7. I'm very good at the math that Gillian teaches me.
8. I like about myself that I do what my mother says right away, always.
9. I'm good at making my bed everyday.
10. I like my blond hair and the color of my eyes. I like myself.
Now, friends, it's your turn to share what you like about yourself. It can be one or ten qualities, funny or serious, it doesn't matter. Just share.
I've been thinking of ways of how to connect with all of you through my blog, and one idea came to me the other day. I would like to do a post like this one each Friday, calling it Friday Forum, where I come up with an idea to discuss or items to share, like your top 10 movies/books/songs etc, and we can all share with each other. This will all depend on your participation. Don't be shy or reserved. It can be a lot of fun. And if you have any other ideas of what we can discuss on the Friday Forum, help yourself and write on the comments, or shoot me an email. Cheers to great Fridays.
Top 10 things I like about myself
1. I love life.
2. I love learning about everything.
3. I'm brilliant (this sounded honest, but it's sounding more and more pompous).
4. I'm pretty.
5. I'm pure and loving.
6. I'm an overachiever.
7. I read more than anyone I know.
8. I take a genuine interest in people.
9. I'm Humble (this was a joke; after realizing how silly my list sounded, I had to add humility in it.)
10. I love myself. (Really; I wouldn't have guessed.)
I didn't think much after I wrote this list, but today when I asked my children what are some things that they like about themselves, their answers put me to shame. Instead of feeling that my list showed confidence, I felt it showed pompousness. The following answers of my children are their exact words, and the only urging I did was to change direction from talking about mom to talking about themselves. Here are the lists:
Gillian
1. I'm obedient to my parents.
2. I'm good at taking care of my brothers.
3. I like that I want to help people be happy.
4. I like that I'm neat; I want to have a clean house.
5. I'm happy about my decision of getting baptized.
6. I like the way I look.
7. I like having a lot of friends.
8. I like it that I'm grateful for my mother and father. I like it that that gives me a check on my good list in Heaven.
9. I like it that I read a lot of books.
10. I'm thankful that I have a lot of talents like running fast, writing good stories, reading well, loving my family, sharing with others.
Jefferson
1. I like it that I have a nice mom and dad.
2. That I can run fast
3. Climb well
4. I'm good at gymnastics.
5. I'm reading a lot of books on my own.
6. I'm thoughtful and pick flowers for my mother every day.
7. I'm good at games. (I can beat dad at monopoly, and Abel at chess.)
8. I like it that I can do experiments.
9. I like that I'm smart.
10. I like that I have a Heavenly Father and Jesus that love and protect me.
James
1. I'm good at running and climbing.
2. I love it that I have a mom who takes me everywhere.
3. I love that I have a mom who reads to me, plays with me, and takes me to the Zoo, and sometimes lets me watch T.V.
4. I'm very, very good at exercising.
5. I'm very good at learning how to read.
6. I'm very good at playing with my brothers and sister, and friends.
7. I'm very good at the math that Gillian teaches me.
8. I like about myself that I do what my mother says right away, always.
9. I'm good at making my bed everyday.
10. I like my blond hair and the color of my eyes. I like myself.
Now, friends, it's your turn to share what you like about yourself. It can be one or ten qualities, funny or serious, it doesn't matter. Just share.
I've been thinking of ways of how to connect with all of you through my blog, and one idea came to me the other day. I would like to do a post like this one each Friday, calling it Friday Forum, where I come up with an idea to discuss or items to share, like your top 10 movies/books/songs etc, and we can all share with each other. This will all depend on your participation. Don't be shy or reserved. It can be a lot of fun. And if you have any other ideas of what we can discuss on the Friday Forum, help yourself and write on the comments, or shoot me an email. Cheers to great Fridays.
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