Yesterday Ra had completely broken his glasses at school and required new frames. I can't remember the number of times he's tweaked or broken a part of them since April when he got them. This time he broke the side piece completely off. I told him that this wasn't going to be an easy fix like the replacement nose pad from last week. I was afraid we'd be spending money for new frames. Thankfully his were still under warranty! I was only required to pay a $15 shipping fee for the new frames. What took me by surprise was that Ra immediately volunteered to pay for the shipping fee since he wasn't being responsible with them. Wow! What a proud mom moment. This is a big deal because our kids do not get an allowance. They are expected to do certain chores as a part of being in our family. We do allow them opportunities to earn money by doing extra chores - things that aren't their responsibility. This means Ra will have to do extra chores to earn the money to pay for his glasses, especially since he just spent money on a stuffed pig for his sister earlier this week.
This morning I woke up to my children cleaning their rooms and bathrooms without being told! We had discussed the need to do it last night, but the fact that they both woke and started doing it first thing without a reminder was awesome. Ra told me that he knew it needed to be done so he did it first thing so he could enjoy the rest of his Saturday. Sis saw him doing his room and bathroom and decided to work on her's. He's such a great example for her.
As we are in the month of November and as Thanksgiving is approaching, I''m trying to look for the qualities in my kids that I've been striving for them to develop. I'm looking for behavior to be thankful for in my children. When I see those characteristics, I am pointing them out to my kids so they feel encouraged to repeat that behavior. During those times when I feel like a failure as a mom, when I feel like I really screwed up an opportunity with them, it's moments like these that remind me that I've done something right.
I am often venturing through this parenting thing solo with all of Andy's travel. It makes it hard to teach those "tough love" lessons because the "mom guilt" often seeps in and makes me question if I'm being too hard on them. Many times I'm calling Andy to check if he agrees with the decisions I've made. I want us to both be on the same page. I know I'm tough on them - mostly because I want them to be confident, independent, responsible members of society. I'm often the only one with them and that leaves me to be the "heavy" most times. The other morning it was cold and I told my kids to dress warmly in long sleeves and pants or leggings/tights under a skort. Ra decided to ignore my directions and wear shorts and shorts sleeves, without a coat. I dropped them off at school with the temps in the upper 40's with a light wind. It was only supposed to warm up to near 60. There was a part of me that wanted to turn the car around and take him home to get warmer clothes, but he made a choice to ignore my instructions so I sent him to school as is. I'm sure the teachers thought "Why did his mom let him dress like this when it's cold out?" but I figured he needed to be cold for a day to learn to listen to his mom. I knew he'd have recess and patrol duty outside. When I came to pick him up from patrol duty, I found him inside because it was "too cold" to wait outside for mom! Maybe there was a lesson learned...
Parenting is hard work. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we mess it up. I have to keep reminding myself that we aren't perfect parents and our kids aren't perfect either. If I was a perfect parent, my children would have no need for God in their life. They need to see me looking to Jesus so they will continue to look to Him as well...None of us are perfect, but we are made new in Christ and that is the most important lesson I can teach my children.
No comments:
Post a Comment