your normal is probably not my normal

And likely, my normal may not be what is normal for you.
In your head, your family and your daily life.
There are so many ways to do this whole parenting thing "right" and unfortunately even more ways to get it wrong. I am seeing some of the ways that the rest of the world chooses to parent and it makes me sad. I recently met a young woman whose mother told her at age 14 that she could pretty much make her own choices and decide things for herself (and she left home and lived in various states with various family members). Now at 18, she lives with her boyfriend and is trying to graduate high school next month. She says that she is not the kind of person that makes plans or sets goals. She just "takes things as they come".
I read news stories and magazine articles about parents that are equally or more so disengaged. I see and come across young people that feel that they have no responsibility to society, their employer or anyone but themselves.
It is very much my goal to raise these four girls as daughters of God. Girls that know and love HIM and KNOW that they are LOVED by HIM and us.
Girls that are responsible, anxiously engaged, goal setting, God loving, kind, compassionate, serving individuals. Girls that know their value and their worth as children of God and seek to share that knowledge with others. Lifting, encouraging and helping those around them.
AND.
That does NOT just happen. It takes work. Effort. LOTS of prayer
Dedication and perseverance.
Even then, there are NO guarantees against teen pregnancy or lawless behavior.
But...there are things that I can do.
Every day.
Connecting.
Making connections.
I intentionally connect with each girl every single day.
As a group we share meals, have daily scripture study (about 75% of the time), daily family prayer, weekly Family Home Evening, church on Sundays and fairly regular family movie nights.
It is more the individual connections that I personally have to make an effort at.
For a while now (I maybe have even blogged about it before) I make two things a priority in my day. I intentionally give each girl a real hug. A two armed squeeze with a back rub, holding on for as long as they will let me! (My Miranda hugs are pretty quick these days, but I have NOT given up.) The second is another meaningful connection or interaction throughout the day. That means that I put down my phone, iPad, book, spatula or laundry folding. I look and listen and give my full attention.
Easy? Convenient? Automatic? No way.
Important? Worth it? Necessary? HECK YES!!!
Do I see immediate results?
Does it make my home Heaven on Earth every single minute of every single day?
Not a chance.
But I have hope, belief and FAITH that as I listen to the still small voice and follow the promptings of my Father in Heaven, the normal that we have here will be ENOUGH.
Our normal might not be your normal, I just know that it is normal enough.
What are some of the things that are a part of YOUR normal?