Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.
~ William Martin
(The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents)
Our wait continues…
Yesterday I went with Larisa to see one of her midwives for a routine appointment and everything looks good, except that Mother Nature doesn’t seem inclined to acknowledge the human-determined due date! So, if nothing happens before Thursday night labor will be induced on Friday morning.
I vaguely remember my mother saying I was two weeks late and had to be delivered with high forceps. And first babies are often late, they say. I had three planned Cesareans so all of my babies were born a few days before their due dates. But we’re still enjoying watching the little one wiggle around in her mother’s womb!
Sweet! Best to you all ! The little one knows when it is time! which in it’s self is extraordinary !!
Thank you, Jeff! And once the time comes, things will never be the same again. 🙂
Guess I need to add the William Martin book to my bookshelf.
Did you find this through Larisa?
I must confess that I cannot remember where I found this quote, but I did verify it on Google Books. I’ve decided to get a copy myself – likely it is full of other treasures!
“…make the ordinary come alive for them.”
I love this wonderful, in-a-nutshell, advice for parenting.
Me, too, Laurie. My own father showed me the joy of tasting the tomatoes he grew, and showed me how to cry when my pets died.
Love the quote. I’m also going to go look for William Martin’s book
That makes three of us, Rosie! I ordered it for my Kindle – it should be arriving by whisper-net soon.
All those sweet moments you have spent together already, so special. She will know you and Tim when she introduces her sweet self to the world 🙂
I do wonder about that, Colleen, I hope she’ll find our voices pleasantly familiar. We live so far away from her, I imagine talking to her by Skype may be in our futures. 🙂
I think I once posted this quote on Facebook. It’s a special one, indeed. More than once a day I think about your sweet waiting (and all the other feelings which may be arising, too.) I also think about how none of us are truly separate and how our waitings intermingle.
Mystery solved! Thank you, Kathy! I’m enjoying reading the book on my Kindle now – it helps the time pass, too. Last night Tim & I took a long walk after dinner, and he did pretty well staying on the “right” side of the sidewalk. 😉 Noticing the sensations from lower humidity this morning…
Oh such anxious excited waiting. Hope it’s soon and all goes swimmingly.
Thank you, Sybil. The other grandparents are on their way down from Connecticut – it won’t be too much longer now…
Love, love, love this quote. Thinking of you all at this sweet time. Enjoy!!!
Thank you, Susan! I’ve finished the book and loved it – no doubt more quotes from it will follow soon…
As I go backwards catching up on your posts, Barbara, I know the ‘sweet waiting’ has come to the sweetest conclusion … which is just the beginning for your beautiful granddaughter and this new stage of your life. Blessings! XO <3