What will you be when you grow up?

My oldest turns 14 tomorrow, and I have to say it brings a bit of a tear to my eye to think about how fast she's grown. And in only 4 short years she'll be getting ready to leave the nest. I'm guessing if you resonate with that you'll get a little fuzzy eyed with that comment too ;).

She told me the other night she took an online test to see what her superpower is, and it told her she should work with animals and her superpower is communicating with them. That made me chuckle a bit because she is slightly obsessed with our cats (as are me and my husband). The other day she took polaroids of the cats to school so she could look at them while she was in class. I love this actually.

I do think that we all can have a special connection to animals, although some may have more innate skills to do that. I did a session with a good friend earlier this week, and she daily has connection to animals in her work. And what came up is that telepathically they are communicating with her. And that she could benefit from intentionally connecting with them daily as they have messages and energy she needs to be aware of. She said that made her feel a little embarrassed that she gets this information from them and explaining that to others. But if not her then who? Animals have a special connection to the earth and nature, and they are here to help us integrate those types of connections within our human-ness. So it's awesome she gets nudges from the animals, it helps them to do what they came here to do, and as a 'keeper' she can assist with what they are here to do. It's an amazing skill really.

So you see, sometimes our occupations look like one thing on the outside and serve other purposes greater than what you can see on a physical plane.

Will my daughter be an animal trainer? a marine biologist? own a ranch? who knows. I just support and encourage that connection because whatever she does going forward, animals will play some part in that.

We watch a lot of Netflix in our house and the other day searching for a show my 5 year old says. Mom turn it to Zumba. "Huh?" It's a cooking show, they make desserts and one person wins and one person has to leave. So I flip it over and she's glued. Mom, I think this girl is going to win, and Peter is going to get voted off (and wouldn't you know, that's what happened? turns out she already saw that episode ;). And as we are watching, "mom, I thought I wanted to be either a teacher or a chef, but school is sometimes boring so now I want to be a chef". Alright, lets see how we can get you involved in helping with supper or making some desserts.

And it's that easy. Your kids are showing you how you can help support what they have interest or drive to do. Your job is to listen and help them explore or go into what those things are. It's that simple ;)

My son is such a genuine caring boy. When he was born, and I held him the first time, his face looked like an old man, and I just felt this immediate connection (not that most mothers don't but he truly felt like a happy old man, and I immediately felt love). He never gets too fired up about things. And is forever patient with his little sister, (maybe more than he should be). Math and logic come so easy for him. He loves brain games, reading stories about fantasy and has exactly his mom's dead pan humor, or at least appreciates the wise cracks I make. Perhaps he'll want to do something with numbers or technical, but he for sure will be around other people, because his energy tends to brighten a room, and he makes friends easily, same grade or otherwise. So I encourage all of those curiosities. And exploring imagination and silly things.

Kids grow so fast. I try to make a 1:1 connection with each of my kids every day. Sometimes life gets busy and I get involved in my own stuff, but now that we are coming up on what feels like the last stretch of all three being home at once, I'm learning to slow down and cherish more moments and connection with them. And taking time to listen to whatever is on their mind.

I hope this inspires you to take the time today to sit down and connect with your kids, listen to their dreams and find small ways to support what they want to explore.