Many of us go through life doing things that other people want us to do and behaving the way others want us to behave. In the process, we end up losing ourselves - we forget who we really are, we forget what makes us happy and we spend so much energy trying to please other people. I have done this my whole life until I had a miracle come into my life - my son. His presence in my life has made me realize the important role I have in being his mom and teaching him important lessons in life. I wish I had learned this lesson earlier - I would have been much happier. We moved to Tajikistan when my son was a little over 3 years old so that he could experience part of his culture and get to know his family on the other side of the world, in spite of the many negative comments from people in our lives. We've been living in Dushanbe for almost 8 months now and while we are still settling in, I am SO happy when I see my son jump up and down in fits of laughter with his 1.5 year old cousin, when he comes home from his Russian preschool and tells me about his day, when he asks if he can go sleepover at his babushka's (grandmother in Russian) house so he can help her clean the rice to make plov (traditional rice dish in Tajikistan), when he picks up sticks during our many walks in town and brings them home to make a pretend fire and when he is learning compassion by giving money to a beggar on the street or comforting the little boy crying on the school bus. All of this makes me happy and it wouldn't have happened if I continued to live my life for others.
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