It was a brisk, chilly evening. I wore a coat of peacock blue. We strolled along the lane slowly, the aroma of meatballs, pizza, Italian coffee drifting out across the way.
When we sat down at the rickety table under the stars I pulled out a yellow legal pad and we began crafting the list. Hardworking. Self-aware. Kind. Compassionate. Disciplined. As the lines began filling faster we realised how much work we had in front of us. What we wanted our future kids to be was only possible if we first practised those qualities ourselves.
Our lives look so different now. We motor from moment to moment, attaching hurried lessons to the mistakes and hoping the little eyes watching choose to model the good instead. We fail, apologise, try again.
The perfect parents we hoped to be seem impossibly out of reach, but I’m realising that isn’t such a bad thing. If nothing else, we do our own work – understanding ourselves, our motives, our failings – perhaps that will be enough to teach the important stuff. Life isn’t straightforward, mistakes will be made, but we keep trying anyway. We show up.
This post is inspired by the Five Minute Friday writing challenge. Each week I join with this talented group of writers, free writing for five minutes in accordance with a prompt. Today’s prompt is ‘work’.
