![esteban.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVmFtZ87u8eMQLb6NxRBnp2F3XmDEA3EzfewtfBYoek86/esteban.jpg)

## Esteban is 23 months old and every day he is teaching me lessons.

It is the perception of most parents that we are here to teach them, when in fact it is the other way around.  

One of the main lessons he has taught me is that there is nothing more important than to enjoy every moment we have! 

Even if he screams and cries because he doesn't want to go to bed, it is still for this same reason:  he doesn't want to stop having fun :) 


<center>![](http://i.imgur.com/rhDKPaT.jpg)</center>


Esteban is a vegan and you may believe that i have forced veganism on him through my own beliefs. It is true that I started his experience of life with a vegan diet.  

But now he is old enough to choose what he wants to eat.  And I do not stand in his way.  We have even put meat in front of him a number of times, saying the words 'chicken' or 'moo', so he starts to make the association... 

He puts it in his mouth with a confused look, chews on it for a few moments and then spits it out in disgust.  

![](http://i.imgur.com/JPDojAW.jpg) 

And just in case you were wondering, Esteban is consistently in perfect health, with the exception of three colds he has had in the last two years.  Which I suspect were more to do with moving in and out of cold air-conditioned rooms to 35 degree temperature outside than his diet. A situation we could not avoid when staying in a Jakarta hotel recently after which he was snotty for some time.  Bless him.

<center>![](http://i.imgur.com/axZO0VS.jpg)</center> 

Luna is just two months old yet she also has lessons to teach... if we choose to listen:  Babies only cry if they are tired, hungry, scared or experiencing physical discomfort.  Once the ego develops we cry about a whole bunch more!  

I am most grateful to have been reminded of this important truth.

![Esteban-luna-11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeLGLLMrLX7eW5WPqhXDmHnNfmbvjEfr1pprW8j4JXzZU/Esteban-luna-11.jpg)

### <center>I seek not to make them like me, 'for life goes not backward'.</center>
### <center>Instead I strive to be the stable bow from which these arrows fly.</center>

![Esteban & Luna.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRVEHyruybZBjnDjZn1TvLggYQutrLFYEFk6gNUx7EPom/Esteban%20%26%20Luna.jpg)

<center>![](http://i.imgur.com/axZO0VS.jpg)</center>  
---

## Enjoy these beautiful words from Kahlil Gibran. 


Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, 
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 
and He bends you with His might 
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 
so He loves also the bow that is stable.  

![](http://i.imgur.com/kf8njjB.jpg)

**<center>As parents we should remind ourselves of this truth as often as we can.</center>**

---
 
Have a peaceful and blessed Sunday everyone.

Please come and join my FB group where you will find a very friendly community.

And should you desire it, I promise to help you optimise your posts, increase your followers and your reputation too.

As every Whale knows, we are stronger as a team.

[Aspiring Steemit Whales & Dolphins](https://www.facebook.com/groups/1281526168558106/)
![final design.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRt1L1WnuZ7GWFcBSqyNdXcbLjkD9geBUgg6Z2pZCK41D/final%20design.jpg)