Parenting..

I spent this last week just outside Naples, Florida at a place called Marco Island.

Basically,  because of some connections with Young Life,we got out sourced by this company to come on their incentive trips and run their kid programs. Why would I want to do this you may ask? Because it’s awesome. This was my first trip, but I hope to get asked to do it again. 

We stayed at a super nice hotel, on a beautiful beach and had everything paid for. In return, we loved on other people’s kids for 4-6 hours a day. I also got to go with 3 friends also on Young Life staff. We had a blast. It was a pretty sweet gig.

 We LOVED all of our sweet kids this week. We worked with the 5-11 year olds, which was a nice change from the high school age kids I work with day in and day out.(Not that I don’t love high-schoolers, but younger kids are so much easier sometimes. You don’t have to work as hard for them to like you!)

 SO cute to see these kids every day and hang out with them. But I couldn’t help thinking about what if one of these kids was mine? They would be mine all the time. Sure they are fun for several hours, but I just get to hand them back to mom and dad.

 We discussed parenting on the way back to the Ft Myers airport at 5am this morning. It was interesting to see parents and kids interact this week. It was quite evident of some parents who just cared about themselves and their kids were the afterthought. (they were also so many parents who adored their kids) But I am again reminded of what a selfish, selfish world we live in. Having kids changes that. All of a sudden you must look out for someone else’s needs over your own. I don’t know if all people understand that. (including myself) Bringing a child into this world is a big deal. I am so grateful to have parents who selflessly loved me growing up. (and still do!) Vacations were fun for us kids, even if it meant mom and dad missed out on relaxation. They always put our needs first. I hope to be that kind of parent one day. I'm going to start praying about that one now because I know I have no clue…

 It was a great week. Here are some fun pics from the trip…