Today was one of those days when being wife, mother, maid, laundress,Cub Scout leader, summer activities director, gardener, landscaper, lawnmower, motivational speaker, disciplinarian, educator, life counselor, computer graphics expert, television screener, social director, nutritionist, chef, shopper, coupon clipper, boo-boo kisser, librarian, piano practice enforcer, referree, nay sayer, tantrum diffuser...etc...etc...etc... is just more than I can tackle. I'm wishing for a cold drink, a comfy lounge chair, a good book, and some guilt-free quiet.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Summer Countdown
Normally I am full of trepidation this time of year. I wonder "What am I going to do with them all day, every day?" But, after all the end of the year projects, make-up work, performances, field trips, dramas, olympics, field days, etc, etc, etc. I am worn out and ready for some flexibility and fun. We have been working on our Summer activity list like we did last year. We had so much fun keeping track of all the fun we had and keeping those ideas fresh in our minds last year, we just have to do it again. 
We have also started a tracking system. I have ordered little bracelet charms from here to keep the kids motivated to work on things during the summer. We are tracking how far they run, how far they bike, how many pages they read, and how many hours they practice piano. We will also be working on the reading program from the Public Library and earning free books from Borders and Barnes and Noble.
Looks like it will shape up to be a fun productive summer!
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Teaching our children to fall
We had an amazing guest speaker in Releif Society today. She was in a car accident at 15 months old and paralyzed from the waist down. Her smile was so contaigious and her enjoyment of life was palpable. Among her many other talents, she is a very accomplished violinist with the Orchestra at Temple Square. She shared so many great lessons and experiences but one really stood out to me. She spoke about her mother and the choice her parents made, to push her to do hard things, to stretch, to reach and not let the fear of failure stop her from trying.
She talked about how her mother wanted her to be independent at school and so had another woman in a wheel chair come to teach her how to fall correctly out of her wheel chair so that she would be able to get back in by herself. By doing this, she gave her freedom from having an aide follow her all day in case she fell. Then she progressed to learning to use braces and crutches. Again, she had to learn how to fall in a certain way so that she would be able to reach her crutches and get back up. She and her mother would go for walks and at any given time, and on any terrain her mother would instruct her to fall and then get back up. Although the learning process was painful and she came to dread the walks with her mother, she attained a level of independance and confidence that could not have be attained in any other way.
As I reflected on this amazing woman's message, I thought of a loving Heavenly Father who sent us here to a mortal life to learn and gain experience that could not be obtained in any other way. Although His purpose is for us to have joy, He allows us to feel pain, make choices, good or bad, and choose to follow His plan of happiness...or not. He has given us instructions and guidance for when we fall, knowing that we would. He has provided a way back to Him despite our imperfections, but will never force us nor deny us the consequences of our choices.
My thoughts then turned to my children and my parenting. Am I preparing my children to fall? I know they will, no matter how I want to spare them pain. But, do I really want to deny them the chance to learn what they have come to learn? I know that the pain of consequences can be the most fertile soil for learning. Am I letting them experience the full impact of consequences while they are still relatively minor stumbles? If I want them to learn to avoid the most painful, unecessary falls I cannot soften the blows as my soft mother heart desires. Am I effectively showing them the path of repentance, mercy, and love that will help them to rise from those falls? Those are lessons they can never learn if I am always there to catch them.
Balancinglove, acceptance, cheerleading, advocacy, with watching, with pain in my heart, as they fall and then struggle to their knees on their own. Teaching them to seek the help of one who knows how to teach them to grow better than I. This is a balancing act I fear I will never master, but I will try because I must bow to the master teacher, and because I love my children.
She talked about how her mother wanted her to be independent at school and so had another woman in a wheel chair come to teach her how to fall correctly out of her wheel chair so that she would be able to get back in by herself. By doing this, she gave her freedom from having an aide follow her all day in case she fell. Then she progressed to learning to use braces and crutches. Again, she had to learn how to fall in a certain way so that she would be able to reach her crutches and get back up. She and her mother would go for walks and at any given time, and on any terrain her mother would instruct her to fall and then get back up. Although the learning process was painful and she came to dread the walks with her mother, she attained a level of independance and confidence that could not have be attained in any other way.
As I reflected on this amazing woman's message, I thought of a loving Heavenly Father who sent us here to a mortal life to learn and gain experience that could not be obtained in any other way. Although His purpose is for us to have joy, He allows us to feel pain, make choices, good or bad, and choose to follow His plan of happiness...or not. He has given us instructions and guidance for when we fall, knowing that we would. He has provided a way back to Him despite our imperfections, but will never force us nor deny us the consequences of our choices.
My thoughts then turned to my children and my parenting. Am I preparing my children to fall? I know they will, no matter how I want to spare them pain. But, do I really want to deny them the chance to learn what they have come to learn? I know that the pain of consequences can be the most fertile soil for learning. Am I letting them experience the full impact of consequences while they are still relatively minor stumbles? If I want them to learn to avoid the most painful, unecessary falls I cannot soften the blows as my soft mother heart desires. Am I effectively showing them the path of repentance, mercy, and love that will help them to rise from those falls? Those are lessons they can never learn if I am always there to catch them.
Balancinglove, acceptance, cheerleading, advocacy, with watching, with pain in my heart, as they fall and then struggle to their knees on their own. Teaching them to seek the help of one who knows how to teach them to grow better than I. This is a balancing act I fear I will never master, but I will try because I must bow to the master teacher, and because I love my children.
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