Dear Children, it's been a doozy. Yet I am proud of each one of you. Dear Hailey, after getting hit in the mouth at mutual you showed how good your heart is. You thought of the other person and why they would have done that and you forgave them without ever expecting an apology. In this circumstance I am so very proud of how you handled yourself. If the circumstances had been different...I would say defend yourself. But you chose to be kind. Kind is always good. Dear Kade, it's been a rough one for you again. Good days and bad days, we all have them. You amaze me with how you always try again. Dear Avary, poor girl. You are still not quite yourself after your concussion and I'm pretty sure you broke your nose. Feel better baby. Dear Hazel, you love school. You are making friends and played at your friends house this week. You had been asking to go to his house ever since you went home teaching with Will. And you said that you play this complicated game at recess that involves chasing each other. You are so funny sometimes. Just don't mess with you when you are hungry. Dear Awkward, when your husband comes home and looks at your hair and says "what happened". I even went in public. Ha poor guy, it's a small town people are bound to see my hair. Dear Craziness, sometimes it's busy and there are grumpy people and someone always has to be somewhere. I look forward to a day when we can all just stay home and relax. That would require all the kids getting along and all the meals magically appearing. Dear Refrigerator, you are so pretty. I bet we can fit twice as much food in our new to us fridge than we could our made for little people fridge. It's even taller than me! One man's trash is another's treasure. I like this kind of trash. Dear Liam, after lunch at the park with family and friends you had your baptism. The spirit was so sweet there. I loved that I could be there for your special day. Dear Will, I see my kids clinging to you every spare minute, needing you. Thank you for all of the countless things you do to show them they are loved. From handling meltdowns, to drying tears, calming anger, setting limits, to helping with homework after work. I love you for loving them. I don't really like having to be so careful about catching cooties from you. I'm praying you will get better soon. Very soon. Dear Self, what I say to myself is so important. It's easy to forget that sometimes and only see my flaws. Yet I catch myself teaching my kids what I know I should be telling myself. Love yourself.
