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Graduation from a Mama’s Heart

Graduation from a Mama’s Heart

Over the last few weeks I have been reminiscing about all the graduations we have had over the years. I am blessed to have 4 children, so that is quite a few graduations. In May my youngest daughter will graduate from high school, and in June my oldest daughter will graduate from a post-college leadership program. That will bring our total to 12 graduations in 12 years. Yep! Some years we have had more than one. All have been joyous occasions. Some following dynamic scholarship, and some a battle well fought. But all of them are filled with value and pride, and for this Mama’s Heart, a great deal of joy.

I must start by telling you that I am not a High School graduate. Yep, I made a bad decision when I was only 15 that followed me the rest of my life. I decided to drop out of High School. Ugh. I was going through a difficult time and gave up. The work was not too hard, I just hated being there. I didn’t realize that a lot of life is doing the hard thing, so that you can later enjoy the good things. I know that now, but didn’t know it then. When I was 21, I passed the test to receive my GED. I did not study. I just went and took the test. At the time it was a 9-hour test over the course of 3 nights. I completed the test in under 3 hours and passed with great marks. But, it was not a high school diploma, and it never will be for me.

Graduation from a Mama’s Heart

Hard Work and Perseverance

The thing I realized is that the GED captured the measure of my current knowledge, but it did not teach me anything. It did not teach me to keep going when the going gets tough. It did not teach me to lean into my strengths, and grow strength in my weak areas. And, it did not teach me to get up and do the hard thing, even when you don’t want to. The GED test did not teach me that we are not always going to like every teacher or boss, we are not always going to get along with every peer, and we don’t always need to feel comfortable in a room. And most importantly, it did not teach me that through hard work and perseverance, I could grow those skills and habits by daily doing the hard thing.

As you can see, it really has bothered me my whole life that I did not successfully complete High School. Naturally, when I built my family, my goal was that no matter what, every single one of my kids would graduate from High School. Next week, that dream will become a reality for me. But now, that I am facing it square in the face, I realize, that although it is incredibly important, I am not done, and neither are my kids. I don’t have that sigh of relief that I thought I would have, because there is so much for each of my children to still learn.

Graduation from a Mama’s Heart

So, what do I want my kids to learn?

I want my kids to learn the value of managing their money well and setting financial goals for their life. High School does not teach that, but I am sure you would agree that it is an incredibly important skill. I am not saying that my kids are bad with their money, I just want them to be incredibly successful with how they manage the money they have. My kids range wildly in their chosen professions, and I am proud of them all, I just want them to manage their money, instead of their money decisions managing them.

Service of Others

Another important thing I want my kids to learn is that a day spent in the service of others, is a day well spent. I want them to be in careers that they love, that feed them both mentally and financially, but I want them to always take the time and resources to take care of those who have not been as fortunate as they have been in life. There will always be someone in need. I want them to remember to not judge why the person is in need, but just meet the need if possible, because they can.

Graduation from a Mama’s Heart

The Best Version

I also want my kids to always strive to be the best version of themselves. My kids run the gamut on mental and physical ability. They are all brilliant in my eyes in some respect. I want them to find their niche in life, and work to give it all they can. It is too easy in this world to try to follow someone else’s path. I don’t want them to do that, I want them to be who God intended them to be. And be the best that they can be.

Contentment

Finally, I want my kids to understand how it feels to be truly content. Contentment is not what you feel like at the end of life, it should be what you feel like most days. It is how you should feel when you have loved well, laughed often, and truly given of yourself in service to another. Whether family, friend, or foe. I want my kids to sit back, relax, and just breathe in the peace that a life well lived creates.

Graduation from a Mama’s Heart

I want a lot for my kids

So, um, I guess you could say I want a lot for my kids. I agree. This Mama’s heart has hoped for many a graduation for each of my kids. And I am so very proud of each of them.  I do want every good thing life can bring for them. And on top of that, I want them to know how desperately I love each of them, every moment of every day. How proud I am of them, and how I know it is not easy, but I am proud that they just continue to keep trying, in every way that they can.

So, Mama’s, how did you feel when your last baby graduated High School? Or, maybe you are still beginning the journey and your little ones are not even to the first day of Kindergarten? Either way, what are your hopes and dreams for your babies, whether 5 or 25?

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