Sugar and Spice by Guest Blogger Jenny

A big hearty welcome to our guest blogger today!  Jenny is wonderful at everything she does.  I don’t want to be LIKE her when I grow up- I want to BE her.  It’s common knowledge that she is an amazing mother and grandmother, but I add that she is an amazing aunt.  She probably has no idea how much her pep talks, hugs and kisses have helped her very favorite niece ever, yours truly, Rebecca.  Thanks for posting today!

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice…that’s what little girls are made of?  This always makes me smile when I think of my girls.  On any given day it might seem that they are more sugar than spice, while other days they are definitely more spice!  With seven daughters & eleven (still counting) granddaughters, variety is certainly the spice of our lives!  It never ceases to amaze me how different & unique each of our daughters & granddaughters are – some love the “spot light” while others prefer to be “behind the scenes.”   Some thrive in large groups while others come alive in more intimate settings.  The challenge is to find the right recipe for encouraging maximum growth & development by providing a variety of opportunities & settings to interact with these sweet rewards of life.

I am in an interesting phase of my life – I can’t think of my own daughters & granddaughters without reflecting on the mothers & grandmothers who have helped to shape me into the person I’ve chosen to be.  I say “choice” because everything we choose to do influences who we become.  My mothers & grandmothers encouraged me to make good choices – that is an awesome realization & with it comes great responsibility to be the “best self” we can be as we nurture & guide these sweet girls we call daughters & granddaughters.  Like it or not, they are watching & they are taking note, both good & bad.

I LOVE having daughters (of course I love my sons, too), but let’s face it…I AM A GIRL & I like “girly things.”  Here is where my mother shakes her head in disbelief because I was a tomboy growing up with three older brothers – I really wanted to be a boy so I would fit in.   I wouldn’t have anything to do with “girly” things when I was little – my brothers were all about sports so I became a decent athlete so they would “let me play.”  I lived in jeans & a t-shirt & my patient mother was ultimately okay with that.  She never criticized me or belittled me for my choices.  She did encourage me to develop a variety of talents & skills that would enrich my life & ultimately the lives of my children.  

I certainly discovered a softer side of myself as each of my girls came into my life.  I enjoyed sewing “girly” dresses for them.  I enjoyed doing hair – that’s a lot of curlers, pony tails, braids, ribbons & bows! I enjoyed dancing & tumbling with them.  I enjoyed singing with them. I enjoyed shopping & all the other girly things that girls do – yet, amazingly, they don’t all like the same things…and that’s okay, too!  Some sew, others don’t.  Some love crafts, others don’t.  Some love to cook, others don’t.   Some love to primp, others don’t.  We have tried to encourage them to try new things & develop their own interests…and they’ve become artists, & actresses, & athletes, & politicians, & stylists, & fashionistas, & scholars, & missionaries, & well rounded individuals…..& beautiful daughters & mothers themselves.

It has brought me great joy as our daughters have matured & pursued their life’s goals.  One of the sweetest rewards is that they accept one another for the strengths & talents that each possesses.  They have found support & encouragement in one another as they have become good friends & they share a strong network of faith, wisdom, & experience.  They share their triumphs & accomplishments with each other & draw strength from one another in their challenges & trials.  As in everything, it is easy to compare ourselves with others – especially with so many sisters in one family.  A couple of my youngest daughters both mentioned to me recently that they admire their sisters for the amazing women/mothers that they are & they learn a lot by their examples – including how they handle the challenges that are theirs, & theirs alone.  Julie B. Beck said, “Every mother should produce a superior daughter.”  If that’s so…then I am a success as a mother.   I am very proud of the mothers that my daughters are becoming…although very different, they each have their strengths.  

I have a wonderful mother-in-law who shows me, by example, what type of grandmother I want to be.  She takes a personal interest in each of our children.  She is observant & pays attention to each child’s individual interests & she will ask them specific things about what they are doing.  I have seen my children light up when she has made an effort to acknowledge them personally & individually, showing them that they are important.

I am grateful that my mother didn’t try to mold me into who she thought I should be but allowed me to pursue my own interests & become who I wanted to be.  This is what I want for my girls; my daughters & my granddaughters – that they follow their hearts & discover the sweetness of being the “best self” they choose to be. 

Tagged as: daughters