Something I'm Grateful For

Portland Metro Parent Magazine has an article this month titled "My Family's French Re-Connection:  A dream vacation to Cannes helps one mom rediscover life's simple pleasures" by Kate McMahon.  In it, Ms. McMahon shares how she and her husband planned a month in France in which he would take his telecommuting job overseas, and she would take a month off between projects as a film producer.  She raves about the joys of taking time off from a demanding job to focus on her husband and 16 month old daughter while exploring a spectacular area, and shared some practical tips on how they accomplished this on a budget. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Being with my daughter every day for an entire month showed me that babies have an amazing ability to make otherwise ordinary moments  truly delightful- or exceedingly difficult.  Finding and using public restrooms in France was incredibly complicated with Sabina in tow...  Conversely, otherwise forgettable moments were turned into wonders with Sabina.  Once, while waiting 45 minutes for a ferry, Sabina discovered a caterpillar.  Crouching together, we watched it struggling across a patch of dirt to the bench on which we sat.  It was an ordinary event in mature transformed in to a phenomenon by my child's curiosity."

This brought to my attention once again how very lucky I am to witness my child's wonder every single day, and to have a child who is able to explore the things which fascinate him, especially nature, almost without restrictions.  Many of us mothers and fathers who homeschool our children have actually sat down and calculated that it would cost our families more if both parents worked, when you add up the expense of transportation, work clothes, and especially childcare after school and over the summer.  But there is no way you can put a price on giving your child those opportunities for wonder.  That is truly a luxury.