Well, goodness. I can hardly believe we’ve arrived at the end of this Grow With Love: Kids adventure. But here I am nonetheless to present the final prompt for the project. Crystal and I have loved every moment of this project and I know we’ve felt as though we’ve created some of our most favorite pages in the process. We hope you feel that way too! There were times, in moments of introspection, we felt challenged in the process and other times, in moments of remembering and general parental gushing that we felt energized and full of love. In the end, we hope you are left with a series of pages you can be proud of — both for the creative expression and the story you’re telling. And hopefully even for the growth you’ve experienced along the way.
Don’t forget, if you’re just now finding us, that’s ok. There is no “right” time to start telling your story or diving in to a fresh scrapping adventure. These posts will remain up and accessible on our blogs via the Grow With Love Archive until the cows come home, so please feel free to visit and re-visit the prompts at your own pace.
Crystal took us in to the home stretch with Day 19 as we wrote letters from the heart to our children. Today, we wrap up the project with another reflective prompt that has us really reflecting and getting introspective. It is, in a way, the core of this project. It is, in some ways, the whole point of parenting. And so as challenging as it may be, it is also empowering:
This prompt was inspired by an article my own mother shared with me, that asks parents to consider — really consider — just what kind of example, what kind of model we are for our children. It challenges us to think about what we say and do and what our children see every day in all the little moments. What are they learning from us today? Are our actions reflective of what we aim to teach them?
Prompts like this can be challenging because sometime, in introspection, we are confronted with things that are disappointing. But prompts like these can also be energizing and invigorating as we are reminded about the importance of what we “do” as parents. We are shaping people in to who they will become. We are shaping their stories with our own. And we have the opportunity to do better. Better than we experienced. Better than we did the day before. Scrap about what your child sees in you, or what you hope they will see. Scrap about the role model you aim to be for them.
And with that, we say a fond farewell to Grow With Love: Kids. We hope that you have enjoyed walking with us in this scrapping adventure. And we hope you will continue to Grow With Love with us as we take steps into fresh story-driven journeys in future.