OWNERSHIP

I have to address something here.

I mention my daughter's fondness for fashion very often. It really is her passion. She has been drawn to fabrics, colors, accessories, and purses, shoes, hats, etc since she first crawled across the baby blanket spread in the living room floor six years ago.

There is something very important about bringing up a child in the way he should go. This means recognizing his affinities. His passions. This means holding on to reason, but showing the child how he or she can turn their passion into a way of life.

My son is almost 24 years old now. From the moment I took him to the last drive-in in the Denver area when he was about 4 months old (to see Batman!) we saw that this kid was OBSESSED with media.

Now remember, back in 1989 media was not all encompassing as it is today.

That four month old not only stayed awake for the entire movie but was GLUED to it. He responded at the appropriate moments with appropriate responses! It was evident that he KNEW what was going on - SCARY!

I realized I had to monitor things for my child in a very real way.

His affinity was for art in media. AND BATMAN. It is my fault, if it is a fault of his. I assume responsibility for that introduction. BUT I do not claim any applause for his successful art career he has now. THAT is all HIS doing. HE is the one that put in literally THOUSANDS of hours at the table with pencil and paper in front of him with only his imagination separating them. And for all the countless other endeavors to get his art, himself, out there in meaningful ways to him.

I DO take responsibility for NOT allowing that to become a trivial part of his life. I DO take responsibility for standing up for him when others were saying "Hey son, this art stuff is nice and all - but you need to get a business degree." or what ever was uttered with good intentions.

How did I know my son did not need a business degree? I home schooled him. While I owned and ran a business. He was with me every day and learned how a business was ran and how it was developed into something bigger. He saw it took EVERY FREAKING HOUR OF EVERY DAY - if you let it. He saw that if you did not like what you were doing it did not matter how much you made - you could still be miserable. He saw how creativity drove a business from being one that just squeaked on by to one that made some real money and provided REAL services as the customers needed it to. He saw that changing operations when the customer base demanded it was essential to staying alive in the market place. He also saw what professional business meetings were like and what clothing you wore to such events in life. He saw paperwork and tax filings and accountants and .....

He had a business degree of sorts by the time he was 10 years old.  He also had a lawn mowing business by then. When he was a teenager he cleaned gutters, odd jobs and held down the obligatory fast food service and movie theater jobs. Most importantly he learned what he did NOT EVER want to do again! Cleaning the bathrooms at a neighborhood bar and grill was the BEST motivating factor for my son to stay on his path. He knew he did not still want to be there cleaning bathrooms at age 30 with two child support payments and no skills, no life. He gradually began to realize that he wanted not to be in management, he wanted to be in OWNERSHIP. THAT he learned from me. OWN your life.

When my 6 year old daughter stands before me and says "How do I look?" in one of the 378 outfits she has assembled that afternoon I know that I am helping her develop her future career. She has been learning how to copy and make patterns, how to sew, and how to examine materials. She gathers bits and pieces of junk around the house and designs jewelry. Making decorations for the holidays all throughout the year is a serious undertaking for her. AND  she wants to share this activity with the entire family.

So I know family is important to her too.

She loves to cook and how to preserve and dry foods. She loves to design and plan our gardens. She loves to plant those gardens with vegetables and flowers. She loves to cut those flowers and design flower arrangements with the intent to GIVE THEM AWAY.

Somewhere in all of this she is developing a sense of who she is. Of who she WILL be. I am excited.
I am excited that I get to see all this unfold for both of my children.

This is the essence of making life better. Making life REAL.

Make life YOURS.

Own it.

-Suzanna