Better now, than later

I guess you could say I am a thinker! I tend to think a lot, enough at times that Derek has told me to stop. lol I know that I am still quite new at parenting where my oldest is only 6 1/2, so I have quite a bit to learn and experience. I feel very fortunate in the way that I was raised, my parents were awesome, they were my friends, but most importantly my parents! Don't get me wrong, I definitely consider my parents to be my friends, just ask Derek whose hand I grabbed and raised on our wedding day, when President Featherstone told us to grab the hand of our best friend and raise it up...........yeah. Anyways, I consider myself VERY lucky to be able to get parenting advice when I feel I need it, whether it be from my Mom, Dad, or Anita. They have let me 'vent', express any questions or concerns I may have about raising my 2 boys, it is nice it's like a PARENTING LINE 24/7 lol.
I have wondered a lot lately, if I am doing an 'okay' job with raising my boys. Dr. Clarke was right, he told us when Henry was born, "Kids don't come with an OWNERS manual, and there's a NO RETURN policy!" If only they did (on the Owners Manual). Sometimes I think that it would be nice if kids came with an ON/OFF button! haha Well, they don't!! I came across this quote, and liked it a lot!! I think that I will print it off and have it in my room so I can see it EVERYDAY!! It really hit me hard and made me realize, that I DON'T want to look back and think the same thing! I don't want to be a would've, could've, should've kind of parent. So I think I will start working on it NOW rather than LATER!! I want to live with NO REGRETS!! here it is ENJOY:

If I had my child to raise over again
I'd build self-esteem first and the house later
I'd finger paint more and point the finger less
I would do less correcting and more connecting
I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes
I would care to know less and know to care more
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites
I'd stop playing serious and seriously play
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars
I'd do more hugging and less tugging
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often
I would be firm less often and affirm much more
I'd model less about the love of power
And more about the power of love.
Diane Loomans