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I remembered when Kay and I used to watch The Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) together every tuesday night for almost six years.
The Series
This series was not so far off of where we were at that time as a family.
Loreli is a single mother raising her 13 year old daughter Rory in a small town. Loreli was fairly young when she had Rory so they some what ‘grow up together’ but when push comes to shove in their relationship, and parenting was needed, the series presented life lessons in a humorous but intelligent way.
The Casual Conversation
What was so great about this time together, was we could goof off, have fun, and have a casual conversation. We talked about everything from college, to fashion, to money, to dating and beyond. I learned so much about her from 6 years of this casual talk and I’m sure she learned a lot about me.
But the most important thing was we grew closer, we developed a closer relationship, we learned to share with each other, to agree as well as disagree (and if there is one thing you want to be able to do with your pre-teen, it’s learn how to thoughtfully disagree).
Her gift to me was being successful in her life and still calling me when she needs something.
No Bad Time To Change A Life
Mentoring doesn’t only take place when you’re young, making a difference in some one’s life can happen at anytime.
Couples
The Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization has a couples program. Couples of any age, such as young couples before you have kids, couples trying to conceive, couples that currently have kids, and couples in their golden years, are all welcome
Just think a child would get double the love and attention from a couple, and possibly be bless with an example of a loving set of parents.
Pre-Retirement
A close friend of mine’s parents was interested in mentoring a child as a couple when they got to the empty nest stage. Not only are they still be very active in their daughters lives, they continue to be a positive influence to another child even in their golden years.
This poem is a continuation from the first poem, My Child.
The page that contains the initial poem, explains my thoughts and why I felt inspired to write these two poems, which is a little odd, because I don’t write poems.
My Child… Your Gift
My Child…
Again I will show you, just how remarkable are thee
how much I love you and that I created you, especially for me
All the gifts I have bestowed upon, each one of you
is completely individual you see
No two of you the same, an exquisite artwork made personally by me
my great masterpiece, my best work, so beautifully perfect are thee
____________________________________________
And now for your gift, further proof how valuable My Child must be
exists in your soul, the divine spark, to be a creator like me
If blessed with a soul mate who is so devoted to thee
executing the plan to perfection, who loves you and who also loves me
Who will treat you like My Princess Child, but on earth can it be?
of course – all is possible, My Children listen carefully to me
The poem below was inspired by The Shadow Effect movie in combination with my own spiritual growth and self reflection.
One of my main takeaways from the movie was how important it is that for each of us to truly forgive ourselves in a very deep personal way.
Most of us do not ‘really‘ acknowledge our perceived negative parts of our personality, The Shadow Effect brings to our attention that this part of us, when discovered, acknowledged, and reflected upon can become some what of a positive piece of our personality. It can and will add facets to our self understanding that we never considered. And changing this negative to a partial positive, will help us find more happiness in our own lives.
When I thought deeply about my own self forgiveness, I was inspired to write the poem below.
My Child
My Child…
You’d never have allowed yourself, never forgiven yourself,
never have set yourself free.
Never have deemed yourself worthy, had I not prepared a path for you
to follow and held the light for you to see.
____________________________________________
Only within the light of my reflection, within the safety of my never ending,
never changing — love could you see.
Could you open your eyes wide enough, to contemplate your brightness/
ponder yourself being what I’ve always known you to be.
____________________________________________
You See My Children…
You are on a journey…. to eventually becoming…
eventually becoming just like me
An angel of Light in the Darkness… that shinesbrightly…
so bright all will one day see
____________________________________________
This is my gift to you… You had been designed from the beginning
to be just like me.
Created in my image, crafted from my hands, my master work
my reflection – the way I created you to be.
____________________________________________
But our common attributes you could not see through the cloudy, dull
reflection you saw yourself to be…
Through me… Only then…Would you gaze upon your own reflection,and
see the beauty that I see…
For I am perfection! — The highest reflection of God!
Children grow quickly, and the cost of a college education is growing at an even faster rate. Today, many of the elite institutions cost upward of $30,000 annually to attend—and those costs are projected to double in 18 years.
The sooner you start thinking about future college costs, the more time you’ll have to develop and implement a solid education plan.
5.9 % Average increase in public university tuition from 2006–2007 school year to the 2007–2008 school year
$ 148,004 Estimated cost of four-year public university in 2026
5.9 % Average increase in private university tuition from2006–2007 school year to the 2007–2008 school year
$ 300,000 Estimated cost of four-year public university in 2026 (Statistics from CollegeBoard.com)
