...and I suppose that could be considered a good thing. Certainly it is in one direction. What 'direction' is that, do you ask? The 'direction' of the hard lessons that parents have to learn about themselves and about life through raising a beautiful life of their own. It Is beautiful. It's So Beautiful that I sha'n't think that anything shall Ever compare to it. But the memory of the difficulty fades with time as the Beauty of the whole process overtakes you. That is a good thing, and probably also an act of God's love and wisdom. Perhaps it is akin in some small way to the 'Rosy Glow' that lingers in most mothers' memories of the birthing event itself, which if you've ever attended one, is not quite so 'rosy' at the time. It doesn't look 'rosy' and it Certainly doesn't sound 'rosy'! Yet, mamas worldwide come away, it seems, more often than not with a 'rosy glow' connected to the event that stays associated with the memory of it. If you look into it, the biological pharmacology of birthing mothers tells the scientific version of the story.
I said all that just to say that just because someone is or has been a parent does not mean that they can relate to a toddler parent's daily struggles and challenges. The Pre-K teacher that just yesterday, who is a mother, told me that my 3 year old daughter was essentially selfish and bossy and needed to learn how to share more readily as well as be less demanding today had an about face tack. She told me today, "After I spoke with you and Christina yesterday I later realized that when my kids were young they were exactly the same way. I remember having to work with them on the same issues. I just wanted to say that it came to me later".
"Thank you for that", I thought.
"Aah, no problem. Thanks for saying that", I Said.
I left feeling more relieved and more understood. Kids are their own people. The greatest teaching we can give them is by example, and many times this is the hardest. The best, but also the hardest. While my 3 yr. old daughter is learning at lightspeed 'how to be' from All those around her, I her father am having to un-learn and re-learn 'how to be' All I can Be for Her. .....Uuhmmm...To be quite honest here,...she is much faster than I on 'the learning' than I am on the un-learning and re-learning combined. May God be Gracious. This kind of forced humility is like Gold. Precious.
I said all that just to say that just because someone is or has been a parent does not mean that they can relate to a toddler parent's daily struggles and challenges. The Pre-K teacher that just yesterday, who is a mother, told me that my 3 year old daughter was essentially selfish and bossy and needed to learn how to share more readily as well as be less demanding today had an about face tack. She told me today, "After I spoke with you and Christina yesterday I later realized that when my kids were young they were exactly the same way. I remember having to work with them on the same issues. I just wanted to say that it came to me later".
"Thank you for that", I thought.
"Aah, no problem. Thanks for saying that", I Said.
I left feeling more relieved and more understood. Kids are their own people. The greatest teaching we can give them is by example, and many times this is the hardest. The best, but also the hardest. While my 3 yr. old daughter is learning at lightspeed 'how to be' from All those around her, I her father am having to un-learn and re-learn 'how to be' All I can Be for Her. .....Uuhmmm...To be quite honest here,...she is much faster than I on 'the learning' than I am on the un-learning and re-learning combined. May God be Gracious. This kind of forced humility is like Gold. Precious.