What is one of the things you are most proud of in your children?

Independence. First year in college. They both tested out of 12 hours of classes and worked their asses off to graduate a semester early. 3.5 years. Many kids are on the 5 year plan.

All 3 of my girls are very charitable, and give money and outgrown items to charity. We can’t pass a Salvation Army kettle without putting money in. My youngest daughter in particular (just turned 11) has a heart of gold. She will share anything with anybody, sometimes to her detriment. I hope she never changes, though! Last week she got $20 in a birthday card and decided to use it on a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. She bought herself a few things, but also bought her sister a coveted stuffed animal. I thought that was sweet, and totally in character for her : )

Compassion, independence, and intelligence in all three of my kids.

The children I have had a major hand in raising for essentially their whole lives are turning into truly sensitive, thoughtful, and kind people.

I hope I’ve played a role in this.

Independent thought, critical thinking and reasoning. Two of my kids are teenagers (one is grown), so it can be a pain in the ass to be on the receiving end of “independence” sometimes, but that’s worth the cost.

Personally, I’m most proud that my children don’t exist (yet… maybe. We’ll see how things go in the next, oh, ten years).

My 40 yo daughter has multiple handicaps, Cerebral palsy, legally blind and mentally challenged. She has worked part-time since she was sixteen and has been employed at Blockbuster for over 10 yrs, checking in and shelving product. Last year she earned an extra $1000 during tax season advertising for a tax company. She wore a staue of liberty costume and stood outside the office 15–20 hours a week. That made her ineligible for state medical insurance so now she pays $73/mo for insurance. She knew this would happen but she likes to work. She volunteers to speak about independent living to parents. She belongs to advocacy groups and aside from an hour/wk of assistance she is responsible for herself and her home. She has social and athletic activities and actually has a busier schedule than I do.

@galileo: She sounds fantastic…worthy of your pride!

My son is open minded, maybe a little too open minded. But he isn’t afraid to try things and he is very creative

my son barely made it through high school, he didnt want to go to college. one day, after working all summer in constuction he came to me and said he wanted to go to college, and wondered if i would help ( $$$).i told him no. i said ” you go a year,if you do good, i will help you” he took out loans. he did great, i helped him, and he is now working on his PHD in computer science.

Their ability to think independently and even to disagree with me. (It’s a lot easier now that their adults than it was when they were teenagers!)

My guys are smart, and that’s fun for me. But I mostly like them because they’re thoughtful and patient and insightful in their relationships with women. I don’t know how this happened – oh wait, their dad showed them, I forgot.

Her sense of humor.