ENJOY THE AGE THAT YOU ARE

Thank you, Ann Landers.

My son was 12, my daughter, 11, and my baby girl was 1 month old when I read an "Ann Landers column" that is still important to my children, grandchildren and me. Her reader told a story that has, I believe, given me a special code to live by.

The story began with Ann's reader's story about her mother's death. She wrote that she accepted the task of sorting her mother's clothes, household and treasured things. Little did she know that she would find a letter that her mother wrpte to her on her 5th birthday.

Just the envelope with her name on it touched her heart and brought tears to her eyes. It was yellowed and crisp so she opened it carefully. She read words of greatest value about her mother wrote about her epiphany and the profound lesson that she learned that day:

"My precious daughter: Today, you are celebrating your 5th birthday and I watched you play with your gifts and friends. Suddenly, I realized that the thoughts sweeping through my head, were wrong. I am writing this letter to ask your forgiveness and to make you a promise.
"I realized that I have not been fair to you. You see, regardless of your age or you development, I wished that you were older and would quickly arrive at the next stage. When you were an infant in arms, I wanted you to crawl. When you were crawling, I wanted you to walk. When you were talking "baby talk" and could not tell me your needs, I wanted you to talk. And today, I wanted you to be older and more independent.
"Suddenly, it occurred to me that I did not take special moments to enjoy you and what you were doing at each stage and age of your life. I have missed something that I should have treasured, and you have missed what I did not do.
Please forgive me.
"I promise that from this day forward that I will take note of what you do every day at every age. Now that you are 5 and it is the last year before you go to school, I will enjoy your age. When you are 6, I will enjoy you and what you do at that age. In other words, I will enjoy the age that you are and the stage of life that you celebrate, for the rest of our lives.
"I love you very much.
Mommy."

The article impacted my heart soundly. I clipped it from the newspaper, framed it and placed it on the wall in front of my kitchen sink where I read it every day and practice the message.

I applied it

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