Last weekend our family had a reunion and it partly inspired this article. At the reunion, I recited one of my poems "I'm Ready". During the poem my dad started to cry. When he regained his composure, he stated that he was just overwhelmed...they were happy tears.

My husband later told me that while I was reciting my poem, the light was shining right in my face. In my poem I mention that "I am the light, it shines so bright..." and the light shining in my face was an awesome effect. I can imagine that my father was overwhelmed with pride; seeing his "baby girl" at the podium speaking of her spiritual growth through poetry. I know how that feels because I'm overwhelmed with pride in my children everyday.

Sometimes I just stare at my little ones, because I feel so blessed to have these little people around me. They are so delightful and full of questions. Often times they are teaching me along with the other way around. That is why I am writing this article to send out a reminder that our children are just little people.

We tend too quickly to tell our children to "shut up" or "hush". Don't shush your kids all the time. They have so much to say, share, and ask. No one likes to be shushed. Do you remember the Golden Rule? Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Our children qualify as others, don't they?

When I was a little girl, my mother always treated me as a person who had feelings. When I had questions, she tried her best to answer them. She took her time and explained things to me so that I would have a better understanding. She even admitted to me that she also made mistakes, but instilled the value of the lesson learned. All these things helped me to feel special, because she treated me that way.

Our children ARE special; special gifts from God! Remind your children how special they are. Sometimes it's hard. Parents these days are very busy. I myself am a working mother of five! One, two, three, four, five! But it's not that hard to be pleasant to your little ones. Smile more often, have conversations with your children, talk to your children, tell them how special they are and how blessed you feel to be his/her parent. More importantly, listen to them; let them know that they can feel comfortable coming to talk to you.

We have to invest more time in our children, building their self-confidence. Tell them who they are. They are our most precious beings, not what they see on TV everyday. Turn off the TV and read to your children so that they may learn to use their imagination.

The other day, my six year old daughter came to me and said "Mommy, I love you so much. You're the best mommy in the world!" That statement made me feel so proud! Sometimes they tell me, "Mommy you are so nice, even if you have to punish us, we know you don't like to, that's why I try to be good."

One day, I was looking at my six-year-old daughter, Mizan. I thought to myself, she really is a good girl! She is self-confident, but she is also very compassionate. She's actually concerned about other people's feelings. We can't forget that our children are just little people who have feelings just as everyone else. They are so important. We can't continue to overlook our children, or even other children that we come in contact with daily. We have to remind them that they are special and that they can do anything that they put their minds to. Let's encourage our children more. Let's create a more positive atmosphere and make a conscious effort in their enlightenment.

Remember our children ARE our future. Right now they are bombarded with so much negative influence coming from all directions. We parents need to be the exception. Let's make a pledge to create positive surroundings for our children. Teach them to be the "oddball", because the "norm" is not looking too good.

Another reason I wrote this article is because my four-year-old daughter was talking to me about her day. She was just so precious, chattering away. I guess I was staring at her a minute when she finished and my husband was like, "Are you okay? Why are you just staring at her like that? I answered, "She is just so precious! I can't help it; I can't believe she's mine. That's my very own daughter, a gift to me; such a blessing."

Sometimes they have me smiling so much, my face hurts. All that joy inspired me to write this article. I wanted to send out a reminder to parents of all the joy that our children give us everyday. Don't take it for grated. More importantly, don't miss it!

© December 2005 By Afromerica

Ms. Anjela McKenzie will be keeping the Black community updated on family issues that will strengthen our lives. Visit regularly for new information that could help you pursue a more positive lifestyle.

To subscribe to Anjela's column join the Afromerica email list to receive new information as it is updated. Or E-mail E. Lee at: oneluv1973@yahoo.com or anjelamckenzie@afromerica.com

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