Day 116 - Birthday Candles

Thought of the day: I think Jasmine is pretty athletic.  Whenever we do a Rody horse race in the house, I always lose to her, usually by a wide margin, no matter how hard I try.  Perhaps that tells more of my lack of athletic ability than her possessing one, but there are a few sports that she is pretty good at.  We haven't encouraged her to take any one of them seriously yet.  The reason is simple - if you take a sport seriously, it gets too competitive and too serious too fast.  This week I read about a local mom whose children, ages 7 and 9, both qualified for national championships for the American Bouldering Series. When I read that, I was thinking - well, that could have been my daughter! And then I read on until I saw that to get to their level, these children trained for an average of 12 hours a week!  That means they are pretty much stationed in the gym after school.  I don't think I can do it.  There is a special league of moms who are capable of helping their children pull miracles like competing for a national title at age 7, but I don't think I am in their league or will ever be.  Will I feel guilty for not pushing my kids hard enough to achieve beyond their wildest dreams?  Perhaps, but that's a question for tomorrow.  Tonight I just want them to be kids.

Photo of the day:

Birthday candles and cupcakes in a party Jasmine attended today.  The kids are either 7 or 8 and they are all so beautiful and so happy.  It's a sweet and innocent age and I wish it could last forever!