Joanna Gaines' youngest son Crew is always serving up opportunities for inspiration — and reflection.
Fans of the HGTV star are well aware that the six-year-old is his mom's right hand little man, and she can always count on him for help around the house, crafting, even honey harvesting, and any outdoor activities. Now, with the year soon coming to an end, the doting mom has shared how her youngest got her in a reflective mood.
In her Magnolia Journal's latest installation, the last before the year ends, Joanna explained that towards the end of the year, she always goes through her camera roll to look back on the year. This time, she "had to stop" over a photo of Crew, in which "his body [is] bent over the boat's edge, his face hovering close to the water," and that "the snapshot is Crew's reflection painted in the shallow water, his wide boyish grin staring back at him — at us."
"Have you ever looked at a photo and felt as though it held the whole of a person? Exactly as you see them. Exactly as you pray they see themselves?" she then wrote, adding: "Crew, our youngest, turned 6 this year. I've learned to savor this age, this sacred season of childhood when kids wear curiosity and confidence like their birthright. His body language tells me he's thinking about jumping in.
"Like so many times before, I witness the way he gives himself over to a sort of wild love for adventure whenever nature's at his feet. His eyes, though, are where I pause the longest. They tell me that he is content, completely, with what and who he sees."
She then wrote: "For a parent, this season introduces a million tensions at once. You know there's so much ahead for your kids, so much growth, so much knowledge," though noted: "But at the same time, you see them already brimming with everything you could ever want for them: courage, joy, belief. In this season, it feels impossible to imagine they'll ever outgrow who they are right now."
"Unlikely, you tell yourself, that they'll ever become anything other than wholeheartedly them," she continued, further writing: "But the impossible can become possible. As a mother of five, I've watched how the weight of things can shift for my kids as they get older. How it shifted for me, too. I think this happens to all of us, actually. For some, it happens slowly. For others, it feels like overnight."
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"Either way, over time, the profile of the person staring back at you gets complicated. Mostly because we start to let in other people's views, too — their expectations, their assumptions. We start to see ourselves plus who we think other people see; or worse, who we think other people want to see."
Further reflecting on the role public perception plays, she went on: "Or, we simply start to notice that other people are watching, and the idea that eyes are on us can change everything. Courage becomes harder to find. We learn that curiosity can lead to failure. That optimism isn't always free from disappointment," admitting: "And in moments when I've lost sight of myself, that's when I'll feel shadows closing in."
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"Those shadows we all grow into. It's the place our mind goes where insecurities and shame and fear of failing hold court. It's the place where we'll withdraw or shrink up and steal away. Where we might think we've reached safety — but never for long. And never for the better," she noted.
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"As a parent, as a spouse, as a friend, but also as an individual, I'm learning that I need to be equally aware of the shadow I carry and the one I cast. When it comes to the person my kids are slowly unveiling, I don't want the life I've chosen and the choices I've made — good or bad — to pigeonhole how they lead their own. I want to be close but never overshadow."
She lastly reflected: "In a world that can make it easy to lose sight of yourself, I want my kids, especially, to know how to find their way back. And when they look at the person staring back at them, I want them to know how to see — really see — themselves exactly as they were made to be."