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June 08, 2005
Epiphany
OK, as epiphanies go it's not much. But as I thought about how sad I am that Jenny's leaving, I realized part of it was that I'm sad about some of the wonderful things she brings to his life that he won't have -- in particular, the way she seems really good at translating her values into daily life. I mean, that's the trick, isn't it? It's easy to have lofty ideals and feel proud of my beliefs, but it's not so easy to live those values. And she's just really good at incorporating her values into the activities she does with the kids (guess it's a good thing I agree with her values!), like the way they study watersheds and salmon and stuff, and then also talk about how garbage and stuff in the sewers can affect the fish, and then they go pick up the garbage on their walk. Or the way Jenny and Sarah drink out of glass jars. I tell you, having lunch with them twice a week finally motivated me to finish the cloth napkins I'd bought material for three years ago.
So, my wee realization was that rather than lamenting the fact that Jenny won't be around to take Ethan to the library and study up on endangered turtles, I can take responsibility for bringing some of those activities into his life myself. What a concept! The problem is I don't always feel like I have the energy to do what I oughter... but I do feel it's ultimately our responsibility as parents to actually model the behavior we value. Not just in terms of being polite, and picking up our toys, and all that, but in terms of making our beliefs part of our daily lives. Why is that so hard?
I guess more than anything I'm grateful Jenny's been around to show us it can be done. I'm not trying to say she's a saint -- she's a normal person. But I do really respect that about her, at the same time that I just enjoy how much fun she and the kids seem to have.
Posted by ktingey at June 8, 2005 11:10 AM