The Things We Do For Our Children

In mid-January my family and I went on church retreat to Green Lake, WI. It was a beautiful setting and a nice retreat center.  We had a nice time getting to know people that we had really only said a passing 'hello' to at church. We had some lovely long periods of time to really talk, not just shoot the breeze. 

Though I was the one who suggested that we go, it was not to socialize however. By nature, I avoid those settings. Big groups and lots of loud children running around cause me some serious anxiety. In the main lodge I found myself off to the edge of the room, usually just talking to one or two people. I never sat down and relaxed, because to me it was not a relaxing space. 

Why were we there then? For our daughter Marie. She had a blast! Running around with other children, free to go where she wanted and us knowing there were plenty of responsible parents and teenagers around to help care for her. We went because we want Marie to grow up having these experiences. We want her to be part of a community that is outside of her normally daily life of school and family. We love the idea that even though she will go to different schools during her life, making new friends wherever she goes, she will always have this group to grow up with. 

The ironic thing is that even though we did this for her, we ended up enjoying ourselves also. For an introvert like myself, it is helpful that we have what seems to be an extrovert for a daughter. Someone who pushes me to get outside my shell and meet new people, to have new experiences. 

Though I did avoid the larger group free times, I had a wonderful time hanging out with the people in our small lodge. By chance (probably actually on purpose), we where housed with two other single child families. All of us seem to be somewhat introverted by nature. I only say this because we all found ourselves hanging out in our lodge during free time, and also seemed happy to get back to get our lodge to get our children to bed at a normal hour. Instead of missing out on whatever was going on at the large lodge, we enjoyed spending a few hours together getting to know one and another and letting our children play. We got to see how our single children went from playing by themselves, to playing with each other, to really getting along. It was fun and a learning experience for us. 

I often feel like I am doing something specifically for our daughter. It is not until after the fact that I realize the things I do for her are also beneficial to me. Because of this weekend away, our family has now made two new connections with other families (plus all the other new people we have meet). We have a stronger connection with our faith community. Best of all, Marie will have only wonderful memories of this special weekend away, and I will always have the memory of watching her running around laughing and smiling with pure joy!