Thanks to blogspot.com for this spot!

Hello, I started out reading the blog of a guy going to Iraq with the Reserves and I thought I was posting to his blog comments about his work. And consequently, I have a new blog spot and that it good! I love to write. And I love to be able to share partly because I am older and wiser than I once was, and partly because I have done so much living that hopefully the mistakes made along the way, will help others.
My oldest daughter just called me and we talked for an hour. In the course of that hour she asked me if I thought she is a good mother and I answered "yes, most of the time" and she then said after hearing my opinions on child-rearing, "it is not as easy as you think". And then I wondered, what I had said that made it sound AS IF I think raising God-fearing, decent children is an easy task. I have been mulling that over in my mind and still don't know. The fact that I still spend hours of time contemplating the lives of my daughters and what is going on with them and if they are ok and the grandchildren are turning out well certainly proves that I do not think parenting is easy or that it ever ends. The truth is I will be a parent as long as I live on this earth and then I will be one in heaven too. I will always be the mother to my "children" even though they are grown now. It is as formidable a task as any human project can be--starting with tiny, defenseless, impressionable human beings just ready to soak up every word and deed and creating an adult able to replicate the good work all over again, is very, very important work! I fear it is greatly underestimated, undervalued and unappreciated in the US.
Of course, that lack of appreciation was fostered by certain groups e.g. the 'feminist' groups, the male haters, the I-don't-need-men-in-my-life unfeminists, to further their cause of tearing apart the family, the marriages and the basic unit of life for all nations. But I was fortunate! I had a strong father and he taught me the important things in life: 1)that family is the most important thing [second to God of course], 2) that family-building is a lifetime effort that takes committment, diligence and perserverance, 3) that the father is important, 4) that the mother must be honored by all especially the father, 4) that children are what it is all about.
Now, I try to convey all of these values to my daughter to teach to her children and her reply is, "it is not as easy as you think". EASY? Did I say it was easy? I said it is crucial but it certainly is not easy. It is the hardest task I have ever tried to do.