Returns on the Investments

More than anything else, I want my kids to have close relationships with their family. I want them to love me and John the way I adored my father. I want them to count on each other the way I count on my siblings. I want them to have rewarding relationships with their grandparents. I want them to enjoy their roles as the youngest cousins on my side and perhaps the oldest on John's side. I want them to know they have sympathetic listeners in their aunts and uncles. 

I'm certain the only way my kids will have those relationships is if I (and our families) invest a lot of time in our kids. Lucky for us, I get to spend all day every day with my two sweet boys. Lucky for us, John cherishes his time with the boys. Lucky for us, we have families who want to invest in our kids too.  

And then every once in awhile, you catch a glimpse that tells you the investment is paying off. This photo for instance. Only a child who knows his place in his mother's heart would wrap his arms that tightly around her neck.