M is for...

M is for Miracles. All kinds. There is a song from the musical Flower Drum Song that says it succinctly. My favorite line is about a girl not 2' tall not falling over as she walks.

M is for Musicals. Do you know that you can teach the most wonderful lessons through musicals? [see above] My favorite is the song "You've Got to be Carefully Taught" from South Pacific which explains the phenomena of racial prejudice. Children are NOT born with it, they must be carefully taught, "before they are six, or seven, or eight, to hate all the people their relatives hate..." One can teach lessons of hope, of faith, of charity all through musicals! They are also great for waking up the family on school days. My kids threatened me with death and worse at times, but getting them up with a rousing musical definitely brought a better mood into our home than other methods. [The Music Man starts out with whistles and 76 Trombones; 1776 starts out with a drumroll--my two personal faves]

M is for Monsters at the End of [the] Book, and other great reads for an with children! We sit with another family at church always. They have 4 kids aged 6 to 1; two of them are readers, the other 2 like books. They love to see what "Aunt [Allrie]" has brought each week. Won't it be fun next week when we add two grandsons to the mix?!

M is for Moms. Old or young, with many children or just one, actual physical mothers, or "other mothers" who stand in parentis locus both formally and informally. What influence on the next generation! How important to the secure development of each and every child. I've written about "other mothers" before, but I think they do not get enough credit. They may be family friends, they may be aunts, they may be teachers etc., but kids need not only their own Moms but the "Other Mothers" in whom they can confide and from whom they draw strength, and look up to and just generally know the security that they are loved and cared about by more than just their own Moms. "Other Mothers" usually have a different experiential background and can relate to the kids in a way different from their own Moms. And Moms, at least the good ones, love their kids unconditionally, providing a base of support for each and every human being--if all worked right.

M is for lots of really important things...I could go on, but my son wants the computer. M is also for "Mine" a favorite word of any two year old, but I am past that point in life, so I will share. My child deserves his turn.