battle-scarred veterans - your words of wisdom

[baskingseals]

I've been thinking a lot lately about the bigger picture. I've got 3 dc, 7yo dd, 2.5yo ds1 and 6mth ds2. In all the general buttoning and unbuttoning, chiseling off dried weetabix, worrying about whether we play too much or not enough, watch too much tv, have too many toys or not enough or not the right ones, I wonder what is actually important?? What can I let go? Where should my priorities be?

When you look back over the early years what would you have done differently? What did you stress about that in retrospect really didn't matter all that much?

Basically what is important?
What isn't?

My sons are v different. One thing they have in common is a caring and respectful attitude to people of all sorts ( within reason of course - they're not holier than thou!).They have made all sorts of mistakes over the years and to be honest, there isn't much / anything I wouldn't forgive. I never had real problems with them as children because they had there own reasonable standards of behaviour - they weren't bullies, didn't try drugs or drink or other dangerous activities until they were virtually adult, made the best of the opportunities they were given. i suppose that's the issue isn't it. Draw the line at things that hurt others or that might hurt themselves. Anything else is just a phase.