Do you have kids? I have two, a boy and a girl. My son is nine and a half (I am not really ready to accept that fact and am pretty sure I am too young to have a son that age. But I digress) and my daughter is five and a half. They are good kids and I love them with every ounce of my being. Now that you know where I am coming from let's dive in.
Maybe you have the best behaving, awesomely mannered, cutest kids and you spend all of your time doing cool crafts and activities with them and baking them delicious treats (all from pinterest) in your perfectly spotless home and if that is you then you will probably not relate to this post at all, not even a little bit. And if that's where you are please comment and let me know how you got there because for me that's a far place from where I reside.
Some days (more often than not lately) I feel like I am living on Parental Failings Island. And not only taking up permanent residence on this desolate island but holding the office of President serving back to back terms unopposed. Now the intellectual and spiritual side of my brain knows this is not true but the irrationally emotional human side believes this to be the truest truth. And once that emotionally cry baby believes something its hard to shake it.
My daughter has been acting up in school and it has been slowly getting worse and worse. I have tried everything my little mom brain can think of but none of it is working. So I have been in an emotional place lately. O sure I can put on my face (a smile and sunglasses fool a lot of people) when I am out and about but when I am home and nobody is around there have been more sob sessions than I care to admit here on this lovely internet blog that nobody will read. So anyways I bring all this up because I wanted to share the advice my dad gave me. It is really brilliant (Yes I may be a little biased about the advice giver but nonetheless) and I thought it should be written down somewhere other than the sticky note I put it on.
"There are two kids: who she wants to be and who she is supposed to be. Discipline makes them align. Breaking the one without wrecking the other was always my goal"
What did I tell ya? Brilliant, right?! My dad is one smart guy and I am incredibly grateful to have been blessed with him. Obviously this quote didn't instantly make everything better actually I still have a good cry again today but it did give me some focus again. And if you happen to be reading this and you feel like one of my constituents on Parental Failings Island don't be too hard on yourself. Chances are you're doing great and your kids will turn out just fine. Breathe. Sit down. Relax. and repeat. (I think I will take my own advice). I am not the perfect mom with perfect kids but everyday I hope we are getting a little better and a little closer to Jesus. And that will make all the difference I think. I hope I can help my children see their potential in God and find ways for them to reach it. Some days will be hard, heck if the past two months are any indication, a lot of days will be hard but I am praying the end will be worth it.
I am sure this will not be my last time visiting my second home on this island but hopefully the stays will get further and further apart and last shorter and shorter amounts of time. And some advice from another pretty wise source lets me know...
Maybe you have the best behaving, awesomely mannered, cutest kids and you spend all of your time doing cool crafts and activities with them and baking them delicious treats (all from pinterest) in your perfectly spotless home and if that is you then you will probably not relate to this post at all, not even a little bit. And if that's where you are please comment and let me know how you got there because for me that's a far place from where I reside.
Some days (more often than not lately) I feel like I am living on Parental Failings Island. And not only taking up permanent residence on this desolate island but holding the office of President serving back to back terms unopposed. Now the intellectual and spiritual side of my brain knows this is not true but the irrationally emotional human side believes this to be the truest truth. And once that emotionally cry baby believes something its hard to shake it.
My daughter has been acting up in school and it has been slowly getting worse and worse. I have tried everything my little mom brain can think of but none of it is working. So I have been in an emotional place lately. O sure I can put on my face (a smile and sunglasses fool a lot of people) when I am out and about but when I am home and nobody is around there have been more sob sessions than I care to admit here on this lovely internet blog that nobody will read. So anyways I bring all this up because I wanted to share the advice my dad gave me. It is really brilliant (Yes I may be a little biased about the advice giver but nonetheless) and I thought it should be written down somewhere other than the sticky note I put it on.
"There are two kids: who she wants to be and who she is supposed to be. Discipline makes them align. Breaking the one without wrecking the other was always my goal"
What did I tell ya? Brilliant, right?! My dad is one smart guy and I am incredibly grateful to have been blessed with him. Obviously this quote didn't instantly make everything better actually I still have a good cry again today but it did give me some focus again. And if you happen to be reading this and you feel like one of my constituents on Parental Failings Island don't be too hard on yourself. Chances are you're doing great and your kids will turn out just fine. Breathe. Sit down. Relax. and repeat. (I think I will take my own advice). I am not the perfect mom with perfect kids but everyday I hope we are getting a little better and a little closer to Jesus. And that will make all the difference I think. I hope I can help my children see their potential in God and find ways for them to reach it. Some days will be hard, heck if the past two months are any indication, a lot of days will be hard but I am praying the end will be worth it.
I am sure this will not be my last time visiting my second home on this island but hopefully the stays will get further and further apart and last shorter and shorter amounts of time. And some advice from another pretty wise source lets me know...
This too shall pass.
