Cherry Blossoms are in the air… well at least they are in Marshfield, Missouri for their annual Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend.
I am honored to be among numerous guest stars from The Waltons, It’s a Wonderful Life, Andy Griffith Show… and of course Little House on the Prairie, not to mention many other famous historical figures. My fellow cast members: Alison Arngrim (Nellie), Dean Butler (Almanzo), and Charlotte Stewart (Ms. Beadle) have welcomed me into the experience of Missouri for the first time.
Yesterday we visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary School in Springfield, Missouri. The third-grade students drilled us with questions for over an hour in the library and then we visited several classrooms.
Upon arriving back to our room, my daughter Raegan—who is my traveling companion—told me that one of the students approached her after the Q&A session.
“You’re so lucky, that your mom was Baby Grace.”
And then she looked at me with her one-of-a-kind genuine smile and said, “I know I’m lucky, you’re the best—TV star or not.”
Can I tell you guys that my daughter is AMAZING! She is twelve years old and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be hanging out with… (I can say this and not get in trouble because my husband doesn’t read my blog posts).
But it didn’t happen by chance and that’s what I want to leave with you today.
My daughter and I have always been close but since she turned twelve last November, we have entered into a year-long pact. It’s this thing my husband did with our son during his twelfth year, and now I’m doing it with Raegan.
So, what do we do? You may be asking. A few weeks before her birthday Raegan made a bucket list—we are slowing checking them off the list.
- I’m teaching her to cook and making a recipe book of all our favorite recipes.
- We have a lunch date once a month… our fav place so far is Blaze Pizza.
- We wanted to work on a project together. Watch out world—a girl’s devotional may be in the works.
- We have a monthly thrift store shopping trip—teaching her how to be frugal and still look great.
- And now look at this… we are attending a Little House event together. How cool that it was even on her list!
We still have to go camping and visit the waterfalls in Yosemite. We are planning an intro to make-up day and definitely a conversation about boys… (she doesn’t know how incredibly beautiful she is and it’s a good thing). She has made a summer reading list for us—filled with all her favorites. And while this summer is shaping up to be crazy, I’ve got to make time for it.
Intentionality is the secret to deep relationship.
My hope is that by the time her birthday rolls around again, we will have a stronger bond than we had before. And maybe… just maybe the teenage years will be a little kinder to me!!
Now here’s my question for you. Who are you investing in?
If you can’t think of a name in three seconds, then you might not be. Think about it, be intentional, and enjoy pouring into the next generation.
You will never regret it.
Much Love,
Wendi Lou
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