CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE

I have 4 children, and 4 grandchildren. I have been blessed to have good children, who appreciate life and what it has to offer. My two daughters have given me 2 grandchildren a piece. One has a boy and a girl (who I can't put their pics on here because their dad thinks child molestors will view their pics), and the other one, has 2 girls. (she lets me put their pictures on, as you can see on my main page). No matter where you go in life, there are the good, bad and the ugly. The child molestors are on every street corner, and in many neighborhood blocks. They will always be around, even though we abhor them, and do everything we can to combat them. My grandchildren have always been watched carefully, as have my children, as they were growing up. When in the grocery store, I would make them sit in the shopping cart, for fear someone would grab their hand and run with them. I would stand at the bathroom door in Walmart, and make sure they came out. I have always been, what you might call, an over-protective mother. Can't help it. After what happened to John Walsh's son, Adam, at a Sears store, I have forever in my mind been labeled the "over-protective mother". That story will haunt me the rest of my life. I know that the pain that the Walsh family experienced was unbearable, and I have never wanted to go "there", to that point in life, where you lose a child. I can't imagine the horrible pain that the Paulk family right here in Prattville, has experienced, losing Shannon Nicole Paulk. Not finding the killer of Shannon, is much more painful to them, as they have not been able to settle the loss in their minds. (Not that they ever would), but it would certainly be some sort of closure they could reach, and work from there out to find some sort of peace. My heart goes out to all the mothers and fathers who have lost children, or grandchildren, neices, nephews, etc. May God Bless them.

Yes, Children are our future. They are who we strive to protect, to nurture and to encourage to make it a great life and to learn to be happy. In life, as parents and guardians of these precious children, , we should always put them first, over anything. I have always tried to do that with my kids. My world revolves around what they do everyday, and what is going on in their own lives. I plan accordingly to their schedules. Sometimes they have to fit into mine, but as a general rule, they come first.

I hope that you, who read this, will go give your children a hug today. Tell them you love them. Tell them that they are the most important thing in your life. Take time to listen to them, and to really hear them. Don't just go through the motions and brush them off, but TRULY listen and hear what they are telling you. You never know when you won't get that opportunity again. Cherish the moments you have with them, and truly count them as the most inspiring times of your life. I know I have.