Growing up Fast

Kimmy had some challenges in her Jr. High years. I don't think that it was all her fault.

She was one who could be teased and be alright with it- at least at that moment. She often would be in tears when she came home, but she took the teasing well. She was often a leader in her circle and served many families in different ways.

When she was 12 she went to Berlin to stay with the Green family to help with child care and learn about being a mom. She flew over with Teresa and T stayed for a week. Then T came home and Kimmy stayed another week and flew home by herself. She was grown up enough that I knew it would be fine, but she admitted it was difficult since there was a language barrier and she was only 12.

The flight attendants were supposed to keep an eye on her, but she looked so mature that it took her crying before she actually got help. It was a great experience and started her on her way to being the woman she is now.

From there we go to high school and beyond.

In high school she also got to go the Berlin to be with the Greens but this was more for future home schooling and mothering. She spent multiple weeks there and benefited greatly from those times of bonding with the kids and learning from a mom with many kids and lots of ministry responsibilities. She has always wanted to be a wife and a mom and thought that she would be a pastor's wife. Well time will tell on those issues.

As a senior she was asked, more times than you can count, "what are you going to do after high school? What college are you going to?" This was difficult for her as I am not convinced that every student should go to college. This was a point of "conflict", not between us but from others, because many think that every student should immediately go to college. When you do something different than most others are doing there will generally be people who want to give their opinions.

Since her desire was to be a wife and a mom we discussed that she should try to spend time with young moms helping with child care, home schooling and doing all the things that moms are required to do, while being a wife. I believe this has been very beneficial for her and has been an encouragement to the families she has been with. She has bonded with many kids of these families and hopefully her impact on them will help in changing culture back to more of a Titus 2 idea. We'll see if that happens later as well.