Never done learning lessons
Some days, Toccoa really tests my patience. Overall she's a pretty good kid, but geez, sometimes she just knows how to annoy the heck out of me and make me lose it.
Like this morning, it took her 30 minutes to put on a shirt and jeans. She had the socks and underwear already - just a shirt and jeans but that was too much to ask. So I picked her up, pajamas and socks and coatless, and was ready to take her to school that way. Yep, she'd learn a lesson alright. But she screamed loud enough that even at 5:30 a.m., I'm sure it'd wake the neighbors up and possibly a visit from the police.
So I put her down, screamed at her - also loud enough for the neighbors to hear behind closed doors and windows. My patience was this short and thin: -
But the thing about parenthood is that as the adult in the relationship, there is still so much I have to learn. Want to learn? Heck no - I don't want to learn anything from my kid! That would mean I'd have to eat humble pie ... a lot. :) But nevertheless, having and needing to learn, I definitely can always never have enough of.
I've learned to take a deep breath and walk away. I've learned to shut the door on anger and soften my heart. I've learned that it's okay to tell her to stop asking stupid questions and call her on it - because that glint in her eyes tells me she's purposefully testing me - but still be available to answer questions in the same breath. I've learned to bargain when it comes to wearing clothes - because everything I pick is either weird or ugly, and really that's all she has in the closet according to her. She's always about the shoes, so I simply say, "Well, you can pick the shoes or if you pick the shirt, I get to pick the shoes." That always works.
But the best thing I've learned is that forgiveness and hugs are the best under any circumstances. I can yell at her and make her run to her room crying - but in five minutes, she's back to hug me and love me like I'm the greatest thing in the world. I guess in that way, her love for me DOES make me feel like the greatest hot-shot in the world. Even if just in her tiny world.
I wish I had that big a heart for people and the world. I suppose learning never stops as long as there are little people in the world to teach us forgiveness, forgetting and unconditional love.
It's a good thing to be a mom ... and always learning.
Like this morning, it took her 30 minutes to put on a shirt and jeans. She had the socks and underwear already - just a shirt and jeans but that was too much to ask. So I picked her up, pajamas and socks and coatless, and was ready to take her to school that way. Yep, she'd learn a lesson alright. But she screamed loud enough that even at 5:30 a.m., I'm sure it'd wake the neighbors up and possibly a visit from the police.
So I put her down, screamed at her - also loud enough for the neighbors to hear behind closed doors and windows. My patience was this short and thin: -
But the thing about parenthood is that as the adult in the relationship, there is still so much I have to learn. Want to learn? Heck no - I don't want to learn anything from my kid! That would mean I'd have to eat humble pie ... a lot. :) But nevertheless, having and needing to learn, I definitely can always never have enough of.
I've learned to take a deep breath and walk away. I've learned to shut the door on anger and soften my heart. I've learned that it's okay to tell her to stop asking stupid questions and call her on it - because that glint in her eyes tells me she's purposefully testing me - but still be available to answer questions in the same breath. I've learned to bargain when it comes to wearing clothes - because everything I pick is either weird or ugly, and really that's all she has in the closet according to her. She's always about the shoes, so I simply say, "Well, you can pick the shoes or if you pick the shirt, I get to pick the shoes." That always works.
But the best thing I've learned is that forgiveness and hugs are the best under any circumstances. I can yell at her and make her run to her room crying - but in five minutes, she's back to hug me and love me like I'm the greatest thing in the world. I guess in that way, her love for me DOES make me feel like the greatest hot-shot in the world. Even if just in her tiny world.
I wish I had that big a heart for people and the world. I suppose learning never stops as long as there are little people in the world to teach us forgiveness, forgetting and unconditional love.
It's a good thing to be a mom ... and always learning.
posted by Pazz at 8:20 PM
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