Who Is Teaching Whom?

‎"Motherhood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you would have. It's about understanding that he is exactly the person he is supposed to be. And that, if you're lucky, he just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be." ~ Joan Ryan

I think it's when my children are sleeping
that I most often think about whether I am
teaching them all they need to know.

I think we would be lying if we didn't all say we had, at least for one moment, daydreams or hopes about who our children would be one day. Even those of us who agree that children already are someone the moment they are born, may still have trouble letting go of our wishes for who they might become. Who wouldn't hope for their child to have every opportunity in life? But what if our children have traits we feel may make life difficult?

I know I've never wished I had different children, but I certainly have had times where their personalities exasperated me. My son's dreaminess and ability to get lost in 5 different activities on his way to put his dirty dish in the sink makes me nuts sometimes. My daughter's penchant for trying to re-negotiate every rule, and the fact that she laughs maniacally when overtired, push every one of my buttons. Yet, if I stop for a minute I can see that there is so much for me to learn from my reaction to my children's behaviors.

Weekend Reading And Happy Holidays!

Feeling the love for
my readers. 

Christmas weekend is already upon us. It's so hard to believe yet another year is coming to an end. I hope you have some down time during this busy weekend to relax and read a little. With all the holiday celebrating and shopping this week you may have missed some of the wonderful and interesting articles that I shared this week, so here's your weekly wrap-up! But before I begin, I want to take a minute to just say a heartfelt thank you for every single one of you. Whether you comment regularly, forward and share my posts to friends or just simply read them whenever you have time, I love you for it. I try to be helpful, honest and open with each post and when you tell me something has helped or resonated with you even in some small way, it makes it all worth it. Thank you.

And with all that said, here are this week's posts, articles, quotes and thoughts that inspired and interested me this week. I hope you enjoy them:

Are You Modeling "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" Parenting?

While I'm not flipping the bird at other drivers,
I definitely model some behaviors I'm not proud of.
(image via babycenter.com)

I have been turning over this blog post in my mind for some time now. I keep starting to write it and then get stuck. Maybe that's because what I am writing about isn't an example of my most stellar, shining parenting moments. In fact, I have been wondering lately if I spend a good deal of my day being a hypocrite.

Now, I don't intend to be hypocritical and I don't generally feel that I am behaving that way, but then I stopped to think about it and it struck me that there is an awful lot of "do as I say and not as I do" going on in my house. 

I know very well that it is what we model for our children and not necessarily what we say that really teaches them. I know that it is the way I say something more than the words I use that makes the impact. But sometimes I feel as though more often than not I am not the paradigm of calm parenting that I wish I was.

Weekend Reading

There's nothing I love more than time
to read quietly by myself.

When I started this blog I also started being more active on both Facebook and Twitter and subsequently got connected to literally hundreds and hundreds of wonderfully interesting people who write, think and talk about parenting and anything related to it. I know not all of you follow me on those social media sites (although...it would be awesome if you did!) which is where I share many of the things I find interesting, but don't have time to blog about myself. For some time I've been intending to send out a wrap up of some of the best blog posts and articles I've come across over the week. Hopefully you'll have time over the weekend to catch up on what you may have missed!

Are We All Judging Each Other?

Obviously, there's no one really keeping score
on how we parent. But sometimes it feels that way.

“The more one judges, the less one loves.” ~ Honore de Balzac

A short time after I began writing this blog I was at the park with my kids when I was recognized by one of my readers. I was surprised, flattered and a little freaked out. Not because she recognized me, but because I suddenly realized that if I was actually recognizable, there might be any number of people who are aware of my parenting philosophies and who could be watching to see if I practice what I preach! 

I can't imagine I'm the only one who considers how others perceive me when I am parenting in public. For example, when your sweet child throws an ear splitting tantrum in the supermarket, suddenly it feels as though a million eyes are on you, each one deciding if you are parenting appropriately. Obviously, the conclusion those strangers draw is totally subjective, but no one likes to feel judged. Then why do we all do it so often?