Often times, people say to me "you must've had great parents!" and by that, they refer to the way I view the world around me.  I do have great parents; but growing up I had an incredible bond with my mother.  I always knew she was the perfect mom for me, but now that I am an adult myself, and have children of my own, I know she was AMAZING in every way!  She was patient, loving, caring, understanding and a great listener.  Important and crucial traits for great parenting if you combine them all.

I was a social butterfly from the day I can remember.  I loved making friends, inviting classmates to my house over for dinner, and organizing social gatherings.  One day, on a hot summer day, I was playing with my friends outside and all of a sudden I had this epiphany "how great would it be to have a Kids Club!"  I had a mother who supported me in everything and anything and was patient and loving and a great listener, right?  Bingo!  I ran home and immediately found my mom in the kitchen.  I described to her my idea of having a kids club at our house for all the neighborhood kids to gather.  She listened, she smiled and then she found a small can of red paint and a paintbrush and told me that I could have the left corner of the back porch (which was tiled and had a roof to keep the scorching summer sun of Mexico from burning your face) all to myself.  I could paint the back wall and do I as pleased to create that Kids Club I was so enthusiastic about.  I immediately got to work!  I went in the back, organized things, wrote on the wall "El Club de los Amigos" and drew two stick figures.  I was thrilled!  I went back inside the house and found a small coffee table and a few stools that weren't being used and immediately decorated my little corner.  My mom provided a package of cookies and my dad made a jar of fresh squeezed lemonade for our first Kids Club "meeting".  I went outside to tell EVERYONE the great news.  That hot summer day, was the beginning of many gatherings where we played school, church, laughed and goofed around.

I will forever feel incredibly thankful for having a mother who allowed me to dream, to create and to have an imagination.  How lucky was I the day I was placed in her arms?  If your kids ask for permission to paint a wall, let them; you never know how it might change their world.  After all, paint is paint, but dreams last forever.