My friend, Andrea, told me recently that she admired me for being such a great parent, and that she hoped she would be a parent like me.
As flattered as I was by her statement (and still am incredibly flattered anyone would want to be even similar to me), I realize that most of what I do as a parent, I have to do, because, well, that is what parents do. There is nothing special about me, it is what is special about parents.
In fact, there are ulterior motives behind most of the things my friends have listed as being "awesome parenting", like:
*Reading Miss Spider's Tea Party for the 5,003rd time, only to have it requested again. The meltdown that will ensue if I DONT read Miss Spider again is worse than reading/reciting by heart the story yet again.
*Taking the kids to the library/park/museum/where ever. I do this partly to expose them to new experiences and culture, but MOSTLY to get myself out of the house before I go crazy and pull my hair out.
*Getting to the grocery store with multiple kids. This, my friends, is a feat that should be given awards.
*Playing with my kids-honestly, it is still fun to play kitchen. Plastic apple, anyone?
*Disciplining my kids-again, honestly, we do it because some behavior the kid is displaying is making us mad. And I can't stand bratty kids. And because we want to raise a productive adult human being.
*Taking the kids outside to play a lot. Having them destroy the yard and chew on plants outside is much preferable to having them destroy the house and eat the plants inside.
*Doing art activities with the kids-These are done when it is raining and there is no hope of getting outside, so I figure if I'm going to pull my hair out and go crazy, there might as well be some fun fingerprint on my clothes too. Then I am at least motivated to do laundry.
And I could keep going, but I hear Little Dude getting up. So, parents, you all deserve awards just for making it through the daily jobs that being a parent covers. And to all my friends that tell me I'm a great parent-keep telling me, us parents need to hear that from time to time.
So, I am off to make breakfast and then get us out to the park ASAP. Because this hair might just come out if I don't talk to some live adults today.
4 comments:
Andrea is right ya know, I think everyone takes note of how amazing you are! :)
*Disciplining my kids-again, honestly, we do it because some behavior the kid is displaying is making us mad. And I can't stand bratty kids. And because we want to raise a productive adult human being."
This one is a BIG ONE. I can't stand it when other people's kids walk all over them... at the grocery store, or anywhere. It's really just making your life HARDER in the long run if your kids have no discipline, even though it seems easier just to give in and let them do what they want. ANd it's really a disservice to the child not to learn self-control and self-discipline at a young age. I'm so glad you are finding ways to discipline yours, even though AJ would rather do the deed and take the punishment sometimes. hehe.
Great blog! You've got so many good points. I think my awe of you is well deserved but I also look at it as you are the pioneer of our social group and I look up to you a lot!
You are a wonderful mom!
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