This could get long ...

One of the many hats I wear at work is serving on the state Juvenile Justice Commission. This is a group of about 25 people from across the state appointed by the Governor to serve on this committee. We meet on a quarterly basis to discuss juvenile justice issues and also to oversee federal funds that Idaho receives. The judge who is the chair of our group is a senior judge (semi-retired) and he currently works for the Supreme Court advising on juvenile issues. I have had many opportunities to work with him in the last 3 years or so and I think very highly of him. When we meet he typically has everyone answer a question while introducing ourselves. This last week we held a summit, involving about 85 people. As we started our meeting on Thursday, he and another individual heading the meeting began to speak about America's Promise (http://www.americaspromise.org/).

This is an organization was founded by General Collin Powell. It believes that all children need caring adults, a safe place, a healthy start, an effective education and opportunities to help others. The judge asked that as we each introduced ourselves, we speak to which promises we have received in our life and which promises we will take back to our communities. Our agenda had scheduled a half hour for introductions and this ended up taking nearly 2 hours. It was inspiring to listen to a roomful of juvenile justice professionals, from probation officers to judges to state representatives, talk about why they do the work they do. It was not difficult for me to know what I was going to say.

I have always known that I grew up in a great family and that I had great parents. It wasn't until I was a new probation officer, that I really realized just how lucky I was. One experience I probably won't ever forget was a social history report I was writing on a young man who had criminal charges and was going to court. The report is basically a background report intended to give the judge an idea about the individual. This young man had a terrible life up to that point. He had suffered terrible and ritualistic abuse, oftentimes at the hand of his own mother. The interview took hours and hours and I cried the entire way home after work that day. I remember calling my parents that night simply to thank them for being such good parents. See, I always knew I had a wonderful life, but you don't realize how wonderful it is until you see how terrible other people's lives are. That day reinforced something I already knew: the impact that parents have upon a child's life. I knew that I was blessed for the impact my parents had upon my life and the responsibility I would have someday as a parent.

The other thing that struck me from this meeting was the word "intentional." At a state level we have to craft a 3-year plan. This plan dictates areas to work on in juvenile justice and areas where money is funneled. As we talked about grants and funding and research, the judge kept indicating that all of our actions around these items were intentional to get us the result we are seeking.

That made me think about the most important hat I wear, that of a mother. It made to stop and think how much of my day to day parenting is intentional and how much of it is just getting through the day/week/month type of parenting. What goals do I have for my children, my family, and what am I intentionally doing on a day to day basis to reach those goals? I left the meeting with a list of to-dos for the program I run and the juvenile justice council that I chair. That typically happens. But this time I also left with some serious thinking to do about what I need to do to be a better parent, a more intentional parent.