“I wanna be a self-esteemed, kind, confident, generous person and be a role model, not because I’m famous or anything, but because I do something great for mankind. And a mom… if I get married.”
Jaw dropped.
Heart beamed.
What a breath of fresh air! For it came from JC. Darling, ahead of her years, precious, precocious, ferocious, eight year old JC. A fresh air indeed, as I spent a good deal of the day pondering what would become of my children.
You see, last night I read this book “9 Summers 10 Autumns,” chronicling the journey of Iwan, an angkot driver’s son from Batu, Malang to New York City where he work as a director at Nielsen. The story was a real testament of the strength of family, education and determination. I was really affected by the narrative, mainly by the struggles that he and his sisters have to go through just to get education and later to make a living, and how despite all that, he triumphed. To see how far he has come made me realized how short my journey has been.
I feel inadequate.
Frustrated.
I fear for my children.
Will growing up in abundance rob them their determination? Will they become soft? Will their dreams be less lofty? I wonder….
I expressed my fears to a friend, a fellow mom. As it turns out, I am not alone… We all want our kids to dream big, persevere and triumph.
JC’s statement feed my dream as a parent. The challenge is, how can I keep the hunger to dream, to persevere, to triumph alive?
