The Power of Thought

I don’t think I need reminding. I totally get that my thoughts, good or bad, affect outcomes in my life on a daily basis.

Yet, clearly, the universe deems it necessary to remind me—and sometimes with the oddest sense of humour—that I should be careful what I wish for.

Makin’ it through the day

Sometimes life needs a little perspective. I find that this is more true now that I am a mother. Funny enough, it has taken me the last four years to really understand that perspective can be everything.

Here’s a list of things learned in three years of parenting written by Kathleen over at a blog about what:

Full of Inspiration

So.Full.Of.Inspiration.

I read a few blogs that I find interesting, funny, down-to-earth, helpful, etc.

The Realistic Family

My mother often says that my father was raised on Leave It To Beaver. And by that she means that TV was his babysitter and that’s where he gets his ideas about “family”.

Parenting tactics

So, I’ve been trying a tactic with my toddler. Whenever he does something that he’s not supposed to do, for example, pulling on the curtains, I tell him, in my best stern mommy voice, to stop pulling on the curtains. I add a “please” to the end of my instruction, partly to teach politeness and manners by example and partly because all of my teaching by example has led my four-year-old to become the politeness police. I’d be severely reprimanded if I didn’t finish with a “please” or a “thank-you”.

The little things

I was walking back to my car after dropping my daughter off at school when I realized I had something in my hand. I opened my hand and there, cradled in my palm, was a small pebble, a perfectly formed decor stone, and a little pink and white button.

In the rush of getting my daughter into her classroom this morning, she must have put these little treasures in my hand without me realizing it. And now, there they were, to remind me of her as I rushed off to work.

It gave me pause (and made me incredibly happy) to see these three little items to which she attached so much importance. I knew I had to keep them safe for her and return them to her when I picked her up from school.

Those little treasures, now so important to me, are tiny symbols of the trust she has in me to take care of her and of her things.

In our busy life, I often expect her to remind me of things that she needs or wants. I’m trying to teach her to be responsible for herself. I forget that she’s only a little girl and all she needs to be “responsible” for is having fun and learning. As her mom, it’s my job, regardless of how busy I am, to take care of her so that she is free to have fun and to learn.

And these little treasures she has entrusted me with, these are little pieces of her that she has given to me to teach me how to better take care of her. She has reached inside my busy mind and given me hope that I can be the mom she needs me to be, even on the days when I am so tired and so busy that I can’t slow down enough to breathe. All I have to do is look at the picture on my phone (which is forever with me even when she can’t be), and be transported to that moment when I saw her message through three tiny treasures.

The Coat

The Coat. Yes, it’s a big enough deal to write about. And yes, it’s a proper noun.

My daughter, now 4 years old, has always been on the petite side. She has usually worn clothes one size smaller than her age. So when the cold arrived this year, she was still wearing her size 3 winter coat. And she was fine with that. She had developed an attachment to it over the course of the previous cold season. And aside from the odd complaint when she had on a thick sweater, she was, in fact, quite taken with it. So much so that, when I realized that it was actually too small for her and mentioned that we should go shopping for a new winter coat, she became very distraught.

Resentful, yet strong

Usually, I don’t mind being creative to get my kids to do normal things like eat, sleep, brush their teeth, put their coats on, etc. And creative I must be, because, for some reason, my little ones, despite routine, seem to forget from day to day that these things must be done.

But when I’m tired, the thing that I resent the most is that I HAVE TO BE CREATIVE to get my kids to eat, sleep, brush their teeth, put their coats on, etc.

Tickled pink about the holidays!

Today marked the first day of the last week of school before Christmas break. My daughter is more than excited. It’s not just Santa and presents and visiting cousins that my daughter is over the moon about. It’s the time off school and the time home with mommy and daddy and brother that has her tickled pink.

First impressions

I drop my daughter off at school every morning, and every morning I see this young woman dropping her son off. She has her other two children with her, a toddler and a newborn. She doesn’t look very old, but I’m not a good judge of age, so she could be older than I think.