“To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know."
- Thomas S. Monson
At twenty years old, one wouldn't think I know much about motherhood. I've never had a child of my own, true, but when a new baby comes into your family when you're just turning twelve, it kind of turns you into a baby mama. I think the funniest thing is that my mother will admit that I changed more of my little sisters diapers than she did. Ever since she was born, I was right there, doing all kinds of things a mother does for her child, for Lizzie. However, the thing I can't stand is when people actually mistaken me for her mother. Like no...absolutely not. But anyway, I do things as an older sibling that some parents don't even do, especially volunteering at school.
When I was in high school the thing I loved to do on my days off was not go shopping or go out with my friends, but rather go to my grade school and volunteer to be "Lunch Mom" or "Lunch Sister" as the kiddies called me or to read for the kids or to help with art projects and gym class. I simply loved it. One of my favorite days of the year was Spirit Day (which many know as Field Day) because I got to face paint all the kids faces. Two of my favorite things put together: painting and little kids. I simply loved all the kids and yes, they loved me back. However, our grade school closed last year and so the kids moved on to different schools. Whenever I'm home now from school, I don't volunteer as much because I don't know where to start. I do play taxi though for my little sister and sometimes we will go to Mass at the Parish before school so the parishioner's started to know my face.
Two weeks into my summer vacation, my little sister brought home a volunteer form for Field Day. I signed it right away before my mom could even get to it. All I knew was that this was my chance; my chance to see my little ones and my chance to finally get my foot in the door at Lizzie's new school. It didn't even cross my mind that I wouldn't know ANY of the parents there...but there were some that I did know: the sisters. I wasn't even nervous about going into the school. I was about to do something I loved; something that I know is a foreshadowing of my future as an educator and as a sister.
So, the day finally came. Lizzie and I headed to Mass where I got mistaken once more as Lizzie's mom, but that was quickly corrected. The sisters all made sure they said their hello, giving me some extra love because they knew I needed it. I dropped her off and then headed home to get ready; I had an hour to kill. At quarter til nine, I hopped in the car and headed back to school where I proceeded to the cafeteria where I knew only one other person. I got my score card and schedule for Lizzie's class and we were ready to go. Our team was a mix of kids I knew from our grade school and kids from the new grade school. By the end of the day all of them were more than willing to hang out with me on a daily basis as they all asked me to come back and play with them. Could I say no? Of course not!
The day was filled with many games and many tragedies averted. Let me tell you, when you are eight years old everything seems like a potential tragedy. However, my motherly instincts (and my many education classes) helped avoid all of those potential tragedies. At the end of the sports events, we all sat on the black top and ate our lunches. All the kids learned a little bit about sharing that day, too. After lunch we headed in for the dance party that the principal, Sister Kathleen, put on for the Pre-K - Third Grade kids. What joy filled my heart to see not only the kids dancing and having such a great time but the sisters, too. I got to dance with my favorite little guy, Liam, who is in Pre-K and knew all the words to every song they played; I was in love with the blessings I had been given.
The whole day was a true blessing. It felt so great to be back in an atmosphere in which I was so comfortable and which I missed so much while being away at school. As elementary as some college students can be, it doesn't quite measure up to the innocence and playfulness of a second grader. I sincerely missed the whole scene and just the love the kids bring into my life. I couldn't stop thanking God yesterday!
Aside from loving being back in the scene as "The Best Big Sister Ever," I was so blessed to be with the sisters yesterday as well. Seeing them not only at Mass in the morning, but throughout the whole day was simply a blessing. Our principal, Sister Kathleen made sure she stepped out of her busy day to thank me and congratulate me on my First Field Day at the school. Both Sister Jean and Sister Katherine stopped me in the lunch line to chat for a few minutes about life. And Sister Katherine later joined me on the dance floor with my little Liam. The fact that they barely know me aside my perpetual supply of cookies for their convent, and yet, they went out of their way to get to know me that day was beyond a blessing. It's sisters like that who truly fill my heart with joy; going out of their way just to share the love and give a smile. My favorite sister moment of the day however, were not the lunch line chats or morning pats on the back, but the smile on Sister Jean's face when I had been dancing with Liam, myself on my knees to be on his level, and we were singing our hearts out just having fun. For a quick second I looked over to see if his mom was anywhere around and instead found Sister Jean's loving smile. She had been watching the two of us dance together the whole song. She winked at me and smiled. I went back to dancing. When I looked again, she was gone. Yeah, that was kind of perfect!
I think the best part of my day was the ability to spread the love. I love the above quote that tells parents to remind their kids how loved they are; it's true. And at Field Day I was able to spread that love and remind the children how much I love them, how perfectly precious they are. And a child for sure, knows when he or she is loved by someone; they give great hugs. And so, while I'm not physically a mother, there's a mother in my heart that got an awful lot of hugs yesterday. And while many may tell me I'll make a good mother, because I would make a good mother, I'll make a great sister for all those kids who will cross my path and bless my life. Here's to the love of children.
Just a head's up: the blog will be quiet for a little while as I'm headed to New Orleans, Louisiana for some Hurricane Katrina Relief Ministry with school...and with my Daddy. Look forward to all those pictures and plenty of blog posts about my trip!! Can't wait for Service Project Number Two of Summer 2012. We leave at 9:25 tomorrow morning, so all your prayers are greatly appreciated, especially since Papa Guth hates flying!! Lots of love in Jesus Christ. Also, Happy Memorial Day to you all and a great big thanks to our military and veterans!!!
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