What are you made of

Anthony Brandt once said, "Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”.  What a wonderful thing to remember.  We learn many things from our families.  Whether they are good or bad, we still learn.  We can choose to be just like those we love, or we can choose to be different.  But in the end, I think that families matter most of all.  I know that my greatest life's lessons were learned in my family.  Both the family I grew up in, and the family that I gave birth to.  There are always trials and difficulties.  Sometimes, we imagine perfection as no trial.  We imagine everyone getting along.  We imagine that there is no arguing, fighting and thrown cereal on the floor.  And perhaps, someday, it will be that way.  But for now, I cherish the memories that I have made and continue to make.  I cherish the love, the song, and the laughter.
When I was a young girl, we were required to learn some of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes.  I could recite and sing many of them, but there were some that were more fun than others to use.  One of the ones that I remember most was very simple and to the point,

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Snakes and snails, and puppy dog tails,

That's what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice, and everything nice,

That's what little girls are made of.

 I love these nursery rhymes, although it sounds to me like the person who wrote them was just a little partial to the girls!  It always brings a smile to my lips when my children and grandchildren act just like the children in the poem!  My personal experience has taught me that most children have a few traits from both of these examples.  Not a single one of us is entirely sweet, and not every boy is rowdy and rambunctious.  But we are each children of a Heavenly Father, who loves us.  I am so blessed with the children in my life.  No matter what their choices, I love them.  They mean the world to me.  I want them to be happy.  I want them to know their worth.  I want them to realize how much they are loved. 

Rosaleen Dickson said it best, "Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love.  Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children."