By Rachel Weidner 
Right now, I’m raising artists.
Both of my children never sit down faster than when it is time to play with Play-doh, their chubby fingers adeptly squishing and reshaping the stars and balls I craft for them. They are fascinated by stickers, and love pulling out crayons, markers, and paint.
While my daughter fights impulses that tell her to taste test the beautiful colors, a purposeful concentration steals over my son as he draws looping circles and squiggling lines, explaining excitedly that they are baby sharks or fire-breathing dragons.
Right now, I’m raising paleontologists.
My son loves to pull out his green tub of kinetic sand, burying and unburying a trove of dinosaurs. He is enthralled with Jurassic Park, and will enthusiastically flip through the pages of EVERY dinosaur book he can get his hands on.
My daughter equally loves to growl and roar while clutching a stegosaurus and triceratops in each of her chubby fists.
Right now, I’m raising architects and construction workers.
With excited and angry squeals, we spend countless nights on the living room floor stacking LEGOs into misshapen towers and buildings. They both fight over pieces only to happily tear down their own creations in order to begin anew. They may not be able to read blue prints, but they know exactly how their finished product should look, and will angrily reprimand any alternations not to their liking.
Right now, I’m raising dancers.
My daughter loves to raise her hands and twirl like a ballerina until she grows dizzy. Her excited smiles and stomping feet only pause when her diapered booty hits the floor. With a loud “uh-oh” she will get right back up, clasping her brother’s hand as they awkwardly try to jump and dance together.
Right now, I’m raising pilots.
With eyes ever on the sky, my son loves to point out distance planes filtering in and out of the clouds. He will spend countless hours clutching tiny plastics versions of airplanes and helicopters, his lips puckering in a whoosh as wings clip belligerent dinosaurs and blades careen into idle cars.
My daughter loves to follow his lead, making her own whoosh noises as toys fly and towers crash.
Right now, I’m raising chefs, encouragers, zoo keepers, huggers, NASCAR drivers, dragon tamers, horse riders, knights, princesses, and everything in between.
My house is filled with the sounds of toy demolitions, the quiet of puzzle solving, and the sighs of drawn out yawns during snuggling. Afternoons are spent fighting bad guys, filling in coloring pages, and reading books.
Right now, two tiny canvases absorb the world around them. Right now, two tiny humans clamber into my lap with wide eyes and big hearts. Their smiles stretch to the skies. Their feet jump, run, and skip. Their minds are full of wonder and curiosity.
They are bursting at the seams with potential, and I don’t want to hold them back.
I pray their unabashed enthusiasm and love of life aren’t trampled. I pray that their feisty spirits and love of adventure aren’t squashed by anyone, including myself. I pray that their sweet blue eyes are opened to wisdom and not heartache. I pray that the Lord will guide the steps of these little explorers He’s placed under my roof and inside my heart.
I know they will go so incredibly far.
Despite the pitfalls, missteps, detours, and mistakes.
Because I’m raising people who forgive lavishly, who try again bravely, who learn humbly, who love dearly.
Whether they become doctors, quilters, veterinarians, or graphic designers, I will be so proud of them.
I already am.
Right now, I’m raising them to be anything, but they already are my everything.
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