Wednesday, May 7, 2008

My Biggest Accomplishment


I was reading another blogger's blog and the responses to her question: What is your biggest accomplishment? Many people said their children were their biggest accomplishment. I'm not feeling that.

Don't get me wrong, my kiddos are wonderful and special and precious. But they are not my accomplishments. The Bible tells us to "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he shall not depart from it." We aren't there yet. We are in the training up stage. At ages 5 and 2, we have a long way to go before we can declare our kiddos accomplished.

I also have some issues with referring to another person as your accomplishment. What sort of pressure does that put on a child? And what does that do to your psyche if your kid is a complete incomp? Do you crawl into a ball, and label yourself a failure? If your kid is a superstar, is that YOUR accomplishment, or your child's for the hard work THEY put in??

I love my children and I am proud of them - except when I have to justify their behavior by telling people they missed their nap. Our goal is to raise our children to be healthy, well-adjusted individuals who are confident and successful in what they love and in love.

2 comments:

Mommy Project said...

I hear ya. There is nothing in this world I'm more proud of than my girls and I like to think I've had a (farily large) hand in the people they are...so far...but that is definitely 'work in progress'.

So, then what would I pick as my biggest accomplishment? Hmmm...

What would you pick?

WIDNEY WOMAN said...

LOL. Questioning the questioner, eh?

My biggest accomplishment is that I have been a community and church volunteer since I was 10 years old. Started in grade 5 with St. John Ambulance. In grade 6, I learned of JFK's speach where he said: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." And that was it for me. I was hooked on giving more than I got back.

It's been 28 years. There have been a lot of accomplishments in that time. In January, I made the decision to take a 1-2 year break from volunteer work, as of the end of April. It's time for me to focus on my family and myself.

Right now, I don't feel like I have anything left to give. 28 years is a long time.