The summer days are growing shorter, and the kids are going back to school. For many parents, it is a welcome relief and the beginning of a long-awaited oasis of some peace and quiet. Of course children are a blessing, but they can certainly cause a disruption as well. Us grown-ups tend to like things neat and orderly, structured and without surprise. It can be really easy to get into “controlling mode” with kids, as we try our best to fit them into our idealized version of how life should operate.
And I believe that this propensity of grown-ups is one of the biggest reasons God made kids. To teach us a better way. I just finished reading this touching article (thanks Marilyn!) about one mother’s unwitting enrollment as a pupil in her daughter’s school of life. Here are the lessons:
- Go see chipmunks and stuff like that with your kids.
- When kids mess up, give them some hugs.
- Give kids a chance to talk.
- Laugh a lot.
Your homework is to read the short article yourself — you won’t regret it — and be thankful that we’ve been sent children to teach us to slow down and appreciate the little things (a.k.a. the best things) in life.
As I read this I could my neighbour screaming at his kids in their backyard. It sent shivers down my spine!
So, not being a parent, it’s been easy to play the playmate, watch chipmunks and enjoy waterfights and even food fights with friends kids. I really hope that I can keep that fun loving adventurous mentality as my kids grow!! I sure hope I don’t have to have a Sunday School lesson from my child – at least not one telling me how to love them!!!
The first year my child was in school and it rolled around to summer vacation was I ever shocked. She drove me nuts following me around and talking non-stop but I was lucky enough to have a wise backyard neighborhood that quietly explained EVERYTHING to me. She said “think about it,she has been in school 8hours a day/5 days a week constantly being talked at”. She told me she would calm down in about 2 weeks. YIKES!TWO WEEKS! So for the first two weeks after school let out we eat on paper plates,do no real housework and vacation at home,going to the zoo etc. By the end of the 2 wks she had settled into a routine.The following weeks we settled intodaily chores and daily quiet time & weekly trips to the library,new park and a different ice-cream stand!. I began to look forward to those first 2 weeks every year it became a vacation for me too. It’s all how you look at things. I tell me kids now(20year old/15year old) there is ALWAYS another solution! Sometimes you just have to think outside the box.