The Parenting Struggle: It Has Rewards! Part 2
Hey Family!
I'm in a pretty joking mood today. The joy of the Lord is pretty evident in me for sure. I just can't stop laughing at this thing called "Life". And especially the parenting part of it.
Sami is going to be 4 in September, and she has this thing that she does with a specific commercial that if she misses could be life shattering!!!! Ok, so it's not that serious, but it's important enough for her to go screaming for me, running through the house to get me. It's a Huggies commercial that has been playing on the Disney Channel since she was born (or at least that's when I actually noticed it). For some reason, she is completely connected to it. The song says "We all need a hug in the morning, and one at the end of the day. It's my belief that for instant relief, a hug is the best cure of all."
Now, you have to understand. This commercial is 15 seconds long. So from the first words, anyone that hears the commercial playing knows that the next thing they will hear is "MOMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME QUICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". That's when everyone needs to clear a path because Sami is on the run looking for me to get her hug. And even if it's in the last 5 seconds of the commercial, she's happy as long as she made it. And she needs that hug. But little did I know, and I didn't realize this until yesterday, that it's me that was needing the precious hug.
Sami is only 3, and I wonder sometimes "Will she still run for me when she's 5? Will she still look for me when she's 10?" I won't even ask if she'll even lean my way when she's 15. LOL!
What I'm saying today is, not every day is peachy keen with kids. They get mad sometimes if you say no. They will also get over it. They may not feel like cleaning up after themselves after you've told them 3 times. It's not the end of the world. You may be the evil parent if they get punished. Their world will STILL go on. Your house may not always be immaculate. Sometimes a load of laundry may fall behind until tomorrow. Sometimes you forget to vacuum at night. It's NOT the end of the world, and the clean police don't have you on radar to come give you a citation.
You are NOT perfect parents, just like your kids are not perfect. But your relationship with your kids (parent to child, not friend to friend) is more important than anything else. So get your love on with your babies while you can. Do all those things that you are pretty sure that they might not want to do with you when they are teenagers. Run through the house desperate to find them when they holler for you just to give them a hug. Kiss all the boo-boo's can. Tickle them until you can't breathe. Play with them in the playground until you find sand in places it shouldn't be.
When they are teenagers, you'll have an awesome foundation to still be able to do special things with them (things they WILL want you to do with them). Like my oldest son, he likes for me or Reggie to help him rehearse for something or just listen to a piece of music while he plays it for us. Sometimes your opinion DOES matter, even if you are not an expert in their topic, that's not the time to be critical. It's the perfect time to encourage and build something with them. I'm not saying tell them it's great, if it's not, but if you already have that true foundation, you know exactly how to tell him "um baby, that did not sound right. You sure it's supposed to be like that?" 😏😏😏
Relationship is everything.
And you may be able to turn the table around on this foolish world of electronics and make silly videos with them dancing if they love to dance. My teenage daughter has been trying to teach me some of today’s dance moves and record me. YES I'm resistant, "Lord Jesus, do WHAT with my arm?? Look little girl, my leg don't move like that anymore." and if I try just a little of it, she's happy. I'm sure she'd love for me to actually FINISH one of the dances, but hey, one move at a time. Today's dances are a little "different". LOL! But having that relationship is good, because when the school grades aren't right, the electronics can go away and they have a better understanding and reminder of what's important. Rather than reminding them "Who's boss." When I was little I remember hearing "I beat you because I love you." I can say "I took your electronics away because I love you." Amazing how there is such a generational difference. The old school way worked for me. This way works for my kids.
Relationship is Everything.
My younger teenage son is a true daddy's boy, BUT, he is still a lover. He will still walk up to me for no reason and just hug me, and God knows, it's a natural reaction to wrap my arms around him too and give him a kiss on his head or forehead. I'll take it when I can get it. I love our silly relationship. But that does not mean he can sweet talk (or sweet hug) his way out of things either. He knows very well, the love is unbreakable, but when I have to pull Parent card, it does not hurt his feelings so much either.
Relationship is everything.
KEEPING a relationship with your kids is so much more important to me after you have built it. You can't just let it falling off later just because the dynamics of life have changed. Teenage years are the most important for your kids. And if you didn't build that solid parent/child relationship in the beginning, chances are, your teen years might end up a little rough. I don't know about you, but I need that solid foundation in the beginning, so that when my babies grow up to be my teenage babies, they still listen to me and WANT my opinion on life. They will be stable (I hope) and sober when they make decisions for themselves and not be emotionally driven or rash about things.
Here are 2 scriptures that always come to me when I think about parenting. I want to share them with you because they really are something to think about.
I love you all, be blessed. And rather than the inspirational song that I usually do, I have a video to help you laugh at the realities of what happens in parenting. I cracked up at this thing because she has all aspects of parenting. The toddler. The teen daughter. And the teen son. Also, if you are in need of a smile from a family perspective, this woman Kristina Kuzmic is real, honest, and so practical. And she does it from a comical perspective, just in case you need to smile a bit in your day. :-)
I'm in a pretty joking mood today. The joy of the Lord is pretty evident in me for sure. I just can't stop laughing at this thing called "Life". And especially the parenting part of it.
Sami is going to be 4 in September, and she has this thing that she does with a specific commercial that if she misses could be life shattering!!!! Ok, so it's not that serious, but it's important enough for her to go screaming for me, running through the house to get me. It's a Huggies commercial that has been playing on the Disney Channel since she was born (or at least that's when I actually noticed it). For some reason, she is completely connected to it. The song says "We all need a hug in the morning, and one at the end of the day. It's my belief that for instant relief, a hug is the best cure of all."
Now, you have to understand. This commercial is 15 seconds long. So from the first words, anyone that hears the commercial playing knows that the next thing they will hear is "MOMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME QUICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". That's when everyone needs to clear a path because Sami is on the run looking for me to get her hug. And even if it's in the last 5 seconds of the commercial, she's happy as long as she made it. And she needs that hug. But little did I know, and I didn't realize this until yesterday, that it's me that was needing the precious hug.
Sami is only 3, and I wonder sometimes "Will she still run for me when she's 5? Will she still look for me when she's 10?" I won't even ask if she'll even lean my way when she's 15. LOL!
What I'm saying today is, not every day is peachy keen with kids. They get mad sometimes if you say no. They will also get over it. They may not feel like cleaning up after themselves after you've told them 3 times. It's not the end of the world. You may be the evil parent if they get punished. Their world will STILL go on. Your house may not always be immaculate. Sometimes a load of laundry may fall behind until tomorrow. Sometimes you forget to vacuum at night. It's NOT the end of the world, and the clean police don't have you on radar to come give you a citation.
You are NOT perfect parents, just like your kids are not perfect. But your relationship with your kids (parent to child, not friend to friend) is more important than anything else. So get your love on with your babies while you can. Do all those things that you are pretty sure that they might not want to do with you when they are teenagers. Run through the house desperate to find them when they holler for you just to give them a hug. Kiss all the boo-boo's can. Tickle them until you can't breathe. Play with them in the playground until you find sand in places it shouldn't be.
When they are teenagers, you'll have an awesome foundation to still be able to do special things with them (things they WILL want you to do with them). Like my oldest son, he likes for me or Reggie to help him rehearse for something or just listen to a piece of music while he plays it for us. Sometimes your opinion DOES matter, even if you are not an expert in their topic, that's not the time to be critical. It's the perfect time to encourage and build something with them. I'm not saying tell them it's great, if it's not, but if you already have that true foundation, you know exactly how to tell him "um baby, that did not sound right. You sure it's supposed to be like that?" 😏😏😏
Relationship is everything.
And you may be able to turn the table around on this foolish world of electronics and make silly videos with them dancing if they love to dance. My teenage daughter has been trying to teach me some of today’s dance moves and record me. YES I'm resistant, "Lord Jesus, do WHAT with my arm?? Look little girl, my leg don't move like that anymore." and if I try just a little of it, she's happy. I'm sure she'd love for me to actually FINISH one of the dances, but hey, one move at a time. Today's dances are a little "different". LOL! But having that relationship is good, because when the school grades aren't right, the electronics can go away and they have a better understanding and reminder of what's important. Rather than reminding them "Who's boss." When I was little I remember hearing "I beat you because I love you." I can say "I took your electronics away because I love you." Amazing how there is such a generational difference. The old school way worked for me. This way works for my kids.
Relationship is Everything.
My younger teenage son is a true daddy's boy, BUT, he is still a lover. He will still walk up to me for no reason and just hug me, and God knows, it's a natural reaction to wrap my arms around him too and give him a kiss on his head or forehead. I'll take it when I can get it. I love our silly relationship. But that does not mean he can sweet talk (or sweet hug) his way out of things either. He knows very well, the love is unbreakable, but when I have to pull Parent card, it does not hurt his feelings so much either.
Relationship is everything.
KEEPING a relationship with your kids is so much more important to me after you have built it. You can't just let it falling off later just because the dynamics of life have changed. Teenage years are the most important for your kids. And if you didn't build that solid parent/child relationship in the beginning, chances are, your teen years might end up a little rough. I don't know about you, but I need that solid foundation in the beginning, so that when my babies grow up to be my teenage babies, they still listen to me and WANT my opinion on life. They will be stable (I hope) and sober when they make decisions for themselves and not be emotionally driven or rash about things.
Here are 2 scriptures that always come to me when I think about parenting. I want to share them with you because they really are something to think about.
Proverbs
22:6 KJV
Train up a
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Colossians
3:21 NLT
Fathers, do
not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
I love you all, be blessed. And rather than the inspirational song that I usually do, I have a video to help you laugh at the realities of what happens in parenting. I cracked up at this thing because she has all aspects of parenting. The toddler. The teen daughter. And the teen son. Also, if you are in need of a smile from a family perspective, this woman Kristina Kuzmic is real, honest, and so practical. And she does it from a comical perspective, just in case you need to smile a bit in your day. :-)
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