Who do I want my kids to be.

Because of a post that was on http://camelsback23.blogspot.com/ I have began contemplating what I want for my kids, especially when it comes to relationships. I have a boy and a girl both as different as night and day. Well on that note here is what happened today. Grab a beer folks, this could take awhile.

There were two graduation parties in town today. One was 4 houses down from ours. We didn't get an invitation to that one. It was for the bank president's daughter. Lots of cars on the block, lots of younger kids running amok in the neighborhood. Nope, they didn't want us there.

The other was for the son of the local dentist, I -- I mean we-- well actually my 12 yr old son received an invitation to that party so we decided to go. The graduate had about 10 friends in attendance. It was a tight group, you could tell. There was a wide range of social classes. We drank Champaign with lawyers and store clerks and school teachers, all who played a roll in this young man's life. I got to tell you, this is one hell of a kid! I wish I could do half as good of a job as the Dentist and his wife have done. This kid wasn't the most popular, but has a great heart. He has as much respect for the 7 year old there as he did for the 70 year old. WOW.

The other party-- which I could only see from the road, had tons of the beautiful people. All the boys and girls there to be seen by each other. The younger siblings, who my kids know, were down the block playing basketball. They wanted nothing to do with these older kids.

I want my kids to be well liked for who they are, even if they are not popular. I want my kids to know true friendship. I know they will have their hearts broken if they know this. I'm okay with that. I want them to have a good work ethic and to be joyful in labor. I want them to know that cleaning horse stalls is just as important as riding a horse, maybe even more so. I want them to look at the global good. I want them to be happy. To feel, to love and not to be taken advantage of too often.

In perused of that, I need to let you know a few things. I am working on making my kids self sufficient.

My son is the sweet one. He is really out going and loves to perform. So along with dance and theater he rides a motorcycle. He has girls chasing after him all them time. I'm hoping the motorcycle keeps him dangerous enough so the girls don't think of him as a big brother.
My daughter is shy. She like to do well but does not like public recognition. She is taking karate. I want to make sure she has the confidence to know she doesn't need to be taken advantage of. She is also in 4H. She has to speak up for herself in 4H. I think it will help her confidence.

Okay, thanks for letting me rant again.