Sunday, June 10, 2007

All Kinds of Parents

Today at church a family we had been praying for visited. They had very premature triplets and only two of the precious ones survived. I saw them come in and was immediately smiling because their uncle, a quiet, single man in his 20's, was gently holding one of the twins. I marveled at this, because I hadn't ever figured him as a "daddy" type. Maybe his shyness or maybe my lack of knowing him well made it a pleasant picture to see him holding his niece.
It made me think about how it takes all kinds of parents to raise the children of this world. The quiet ones don't get the attention that some others might get, and yet, their children grow to laugh and learn with the rest of them. As much as I admire my girlfriends who are moms of action (making great plans to fill their days, running with amazing stamina after their "bolters"), I am beginning to realize the strength of the quiet mothers who do all these same things, without the attention they deserve. Maybe this is why there isn't just one book on parenting...because there isn't just one kind of parent. Thank goodness.

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