Change is definitely in the air these days… Even here at TWINS™ Magazine we have felt the effects of change as we celebrate 25 years as the definitive resource on parenting multiples with a proud tradition of helping thousands of families across the globe throughout the years.  That is why we have made the decision to move to a quarterly publication to cover each and every season of your multiples’ lives when published in the summer, fall, winter and spring each year.  You can read our official annoucement previously posted here on my blog for more specific details.

For me personally, our family is also experiencing some change.  My twin boys just finished their 5th grade year and their final year of elementary school.  This fall they will be moving on to (big boy school) or Middle School.  I must admit that the thought of sending them off to the land of cell phones, hormones and pre-teen attitudes is something we are reluctantly preparing ourselves to experience.  By the time they get to Middle School, this means that as parents we need to relinquish the great control we have had over every aspect of their lives and now allow them the freedom to make their own choices and even give them the opportunity to make some mistakes and learn from them.  It’s much like when they were toddlers and learning to walk for the first time.  I can remember following them around… waiting, watching their every move and my overwhelming desire to protect them from the harsh realities of the floor. 

Not much has changed in that regard…I still have that overwhelming desire to protect them from the harsh realities of life so they don’t fall.  But then I have to realize that if I am always there to swoop in and save them by solving their problems or making sure they never get their feelings hurt or let them feel what it’s like to lose that big game, then how will they ever learn that life is tough and filled with ups and downs and successes and failures, too?

One of my most favorite stories about failure is Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb.  He tried over 10,000 times to find a workable solution yet failed every time before finally getting it right.  He never gave up and always persevered.  The way he approached this was that he successfully discovered 10,000 ways NOT to make a light bulb and not 10,000 failures.Think about your own life’s journey… some of the most difficult and challenging times you have experienced in your life have probably forced you to learn something and move forward with a deeper understanding of that issue.  By allowing your children to make their own mistakes and even experience failure from time to time teaches them to not give up, to persevere and to do better the next time.  If we are always there to protect them and we never let them fall, when will they ever learn to pull themselves up, brush themselves off and eventually walk alone?