Mother’s Day Reflections

Happy Mother’s Day a few days late! If your house was anything like mine over the weekend, you may still be recuperating. We were busy (to say the least) and in the midst of all the preparations and visiting I learned a very important lesson from my 7 year old daughter, Carmen. Carmen is quiet, but she notices every little thing. She can hurry through a room and stop suddenly to say “Mom, is that a new table cloth?” and she’s the first to notice a change in hair color or cut. When she has something to say, I try to really listen because she has an interesting perspective on things. More on that in a moment.

My mother in law is staying with us while convalescing from joint replacement surgery so it just made sense to host Mother’s Day at our house. Hosting meant a bit of work (especially since I play organ and was scheduled to play two services Sunday morning) but it was a great way to see everyone without the stress of eating in a restaurant. I planned something fairly easy since we were feeding 12 adults and 6 children. Saturday morning, I headed to the market with my 3 children (Carmen 7, Andre 5, and Breccan 7 months). We bought whole wheat buns, locally grown produce, and dye free pastries. We talked about making wise food choices and we headed home to grill up our grass fed beef patties and pork brats made from animals we raised ourselves. This isn’t something we do occasionally, it’s how we live. We don’t give it much thought most of the time.

Mother’s Day was a delightful time of love, laughter, and food a plenty! After our company left, Carmen pulled me aside and was full of questions:
• Mom, why don’t our cousins drink our milk? Don’t they know raw milk is better than store bought milk?
• Mom, why do people drink soda? You say it’s bad for us, isn’t it bad for them?
• Mom, there was a lady at church wearing high heels. Aren’t those yucky for her back?
• Mom, some people use throw away diapers, isn’t that terrible?

It was at that moment I realized I had been so busy teaching my children about our way of life I had forgotten to teach them about acceptance. Luckily, Carmen was paying attention and brought this to me early. I gathered both older children and we chatted about how people doing things differently didn’t mean one was wrong and one was right – they’re just different. (Somehow this encompassed a very short lived conversation about being cremated as well – not sure how that happened?) We ended our little chat by agreeing on the following:

Everyone’s parents and families are doing the best they can and as long as something is done in the spirit of love, it is done right.

Now it’s your turn. Please leave a comment about this post or answer one of the questions below:

What is something you do at your house that might be different than how other people do things?

What about self-publishing versus traditional publishing, is one wrong and one is right or can we agree both are done in the spirit of love and both are right?

What lessons have you learned through children?



Crystal is a church musician, business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Reedsville, Wisconsin with her husband, three young children (Carmen 7, Andre 5, Breccan 7 months), two dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, and over 200 Holsteins. You can find Crystal blogging and reviewing books and all sorts of other stuff at: http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

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2 comments acceptance, eyes of a child, interesting perspective, lessons, life lessons, parenting young children, perspective, what children see

Encouraging and Creating Young Creative Writers

By Crystal Otto

Before I get too far in today’s post, I should tell you a bit about who I am. I’m a wife, a mother, a writer, a musician, and a dairy farmer. I don’t know how all these go together, but I have a sneaking suspicion that each of them play into my role as a teacher when it comes to teaching young people about creative writing. I work on special projects with my daughter’s class. She is in Kindergarten, and some of her creative writing has already been featured on my blog, submitted as part of a college project for her teacher, and shared with many via social media. My daughter turned six at the beginning of March; so when I speak to you about creating a young creative writer, I want you to know that a child is never too young to be creative.

The first stories that a child hears are simple spoken tales shared by their parents. Hearing develops in the womb at sixteen weeks. A sixteen-week-old child in the womb cannot understand your words, but the excitement and tone of your voice tell a very musical story (some scientists even argue that fetuses as young as seven months dream). After birth, it’s a similar situation. We read to our children, sing to our children, and converse in front of our children, and their brains process that information at whatever level they are at. That said, a child that can draw pictures—even simple stick people—can begin to tell a story.

When a child creates a piece of art or is animatedly explaining something to you, ask questions. Don’t assume that the scribble on the page is just a scribble or that the dinosaur is a tyrannosaurus. If you engage the youngest of children and ask questions about things, you’ll find that those pictures develop into written words and those short stories develop into longer stories and poems. What color was the slide? How big was the dinosaur? You were the tooth fairy—how did you get into the little girl’s house and what did you do with the tooth? Etc.

My children know that I write and ask me questions about what I’m writing (or what I’m reading), and we talk about my work as well as theirs. They beam with pride when they see my picture in the paper or I show them my name on the computer screen or in a book. To encourage their creative “work” as well, I have the luxury of going one step further than most parents. Most parents hang pictures or stories on the fridge or share them with friends and family. I am able to post some of the stories, pictures, and drawings on my blog, website, or social media. When the children see themselves and/or their creation “up in lights” as we say, they feel good and want to write more. This is something very easy to do as a parent, but a gift that will last a lifetime for the children. It’s never too early to share your passion for writing with your own children by volunteering at a library or school. Help encourage our future writers!

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8 comments children imagination, children writing, creative children, creative writing children, parenting young children, teaching children to write, young writers