I was tagged on a meme by A Very Open Book. The meme is simple in concept. Five thing you want your kids to know. Simple right?

Well, it turns out, choosing just five things you want your kids to know is not as easy as it seems. If I only have five things they should know, should it be something that will keep them from being beat up, like, “Don’t wear plaid with stripes” or should it be more useful over the long haul, like “always check your eggs before buying them”? Perhaps it should be something that could save them embarrassment, like, “Never turn down a mint if offered.” Or maybe they should know the pythagorean theorem – that thing has gotta be useful for someone, right? You see? The possibilities are endless.

Nevertheless, I had to narrow them down. And if you ask me this question a week from now, I’d probably give five different answers but these are my answers today.

1) I want them to know that they can do anything they put their mind to. I want them to know, in their heart, that they can make their greatest desires come true if they are willing to go after it with all of their heart.

2) I want them to know the feeling of giving joy to those less fortunate. Knowing the look of appreciation and relief in someone’s eyes when you make their life just a little bit easier.

3) I want them to know love. I want them to know what kind of love they deserve and settle for nothing else. I want them to find someone that they know, in their hearts, will love them unconditionally forever.

4) I want them to know that they will always have each other. I envy the bond that they have already because they’ve known each other their entire lives. I want them to absolutely know that they will always be there to support each other and love each other.

5) Finally, I want them to know how much their father loves them. I cannot put into a few words how much I love them and my greatest desire is that when my children are older that they will know, without a doubt, that their father loves them with every fiber of his being.