What Is Your Greatest Hope For Your Children?

by Backpacking Dad

I was asked, on a questionnaire, about my greatest hope for my children. I filled in the space, thinking the whole time that this question was a waste of time. What is my greatest hope for them? “That they are happy,” I say, in a smarmy voice, mocking the question. “That they are healthy,” I offer, in the same voice. What is my greatest hope for them? I don’t know. I don’t have a greatest hope for them.

I do have many, many everyday sorts of hopes for them. I hope they don’t smoke. I hope they don’t hurt themselves with drugs, or alcohol. I hope they navigate cruel relationships with resilience. I hope they fail well. I hope they love more things than they hate. I hope they think well of me when they are older. I hope they respect me while they are younger. I hope they respect their bodies; I hope they don’t get vain in their teens. I hope they aren’t cruel. I hope they are loved. I hope they are interesting. I hope they are confident. I hope they are resilient.

I hope if one of them does something remarkable that the other will do some remarking. I hope if one of them does something amazing that the other will be amazed. I hope they love each other for the rest of their lives.

I hope they visit on weekends, in summers, at Christmas and for our birthdays. I hope they love to travel.

I hope they earn their lives before spending them.

These are my hopes. Not one is my greatest hope. I’m always hoping.

11 comments

1 melanie { 08.16.12 at 10:59 am }: now that is a fantastic blog post… YES to all of that
2 Backpacking Dad { 08.16.12 at 11:04 am }: Thank you, delightful and kind reader Melanie.
3 neal call { 08.16.12 at 4:14 pm }: Totally on-board with never-ending little hopes. They add up to something that’s much harder to express, and perhaps can’t be expressed without dumbing it down far, far too much.
4 Backpacking Dad { 08.16.12 at 4:31 pm }: Yeah. Smarmy voice: “I just want them to be happy….”
5 Sharibrat { 08.16.12 at 6:36 pm }: Very well said. I’ll be sharing this one and also saving it for future reading.
6 Backpacking Dad { 08.16.12 at 10:23 pm }: Cool.

Cool cool cool.
7 Melissa { 08.17.12 at 3:25 am }: You rock. That is all.
8 KimMoldofsky { 08.17.12 at 5:46 am }: This. Is fabulous.
9 Bethany { 08.17.12 at 6:21 am }: Shawn, this is so good. You put it just right – all the hopes… surely all the small ones add up to a life worth living.
10 Justin Rains { 08.17.12 at 6:28 am }: I’m with you. Happy and healthy. I hope they have the means to provide for themselves as they get older.
11 IlinaP { 09.18.12 at 8:29 am }: So well put! I agree with each and every hope.