(1) I learned to keep things simple!  We had a birthday party for my one-year-old, and though I was tempted to make it into something "big," another mother reminded me that simplicity is okay.  We ended up just eating cupcakes at the park with friends...no stress, minimal planning, minimal clean-up, and everyone had a great time! (April Perry)

(2) I actually learned this from a dad. There's a stay-at-home dad in my neighborhood who I see following his 2-year-old around a lot. This dad is older and was surprised later in life with this little boy and he's told me that he didn't spend much time with his now-grown-up kids and doesn't want to miss out on the beauty of this little guys' childhood. Whenever I'm out and about, it seems I see him with little Nicholas, stopping to look at the bugs Nick points out, helping Nick pile up rocks when he feels like doing that, listening intently as Nick tries to explain something. Whenever I see this happy couple, it reminds me of the beauty of spending quality time with my kids individually, stopping to "smell the roses" with them more often, and trying to do things at my kids' pace more often. Childhood is really so short! (Saren Loosli)



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