A great day!


As one of the youngest of my cousins I have had a variety of examples to learn from.

Yesterday we enjoyed an extended day with the best of them. R&Q are interesting, successful in both their careers and their family life. They have cool kids (K&A), inspiring jobs, gorgeous houses, great personalities - you get the picture. And they seem to have what I most wish for: work-life balance!

Through they years I have taken tips from them in child rearing. T & I try to raise kids by fostering an interesting environment (R&Q's jobs alone would give any kids a great start, our asset has been how much we have exposed our kids to through travel), discipline as necessary and be aware of what is going on at school. It is so great to see their smart, well-adjusted high-schoolers. They too have an older daughter/younger son mixture.

Q reminded me to look beyond the daily issues or class placement questions and see the big picture. I am going to do that more. They too have had criticisms of their school, and even moved to get a better education for their kids.

Most of all, seeing their kids now and remembering similarities to my kids then, makes me relax. A was also obsessed with Pokemon cards some 7 years ago. N is right on track to A's coolness, I hope. K was never a girly-girl and neither is C. K draws. C writes. It's all good!

It's the last week before school starts: again we will follow their example. The MO is enjoy the fresh air, eat well and spend time with interesting people.

(The picture is from Friday night - we were on a different lake on Sunday)

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