Truth #2
"I tell you that I love staying home with the kids, but I walk by coffee shops and with I was working there. Washing dishes. Picking up trash. Working anywhere!"
Submitted via e-mail 6/23/07
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Like Post Secret -- For Parents
Think of this site as your place to vent, commiserate, and share your truths about parenting with the world -- anonymously. We all know the line society and the media feeds us about parenting. It's wonderful. It's the hardest job you'll ever love. You'll never love anything like you'll love your kids.
Except for most of us -- all of us? -- those expectations of how wonderful this parenting gig is can be crushing.
Let's get to the truth.
Send your truths -- stories, single words, a few sentences, a scanned in picture or graphic, to truthinparenting@gmail.com.
Anonymity and confidentiality will be strictly honored.
I'll go first in the next post, titled "Truth: I Don't Like Your Son"
Except for most of us -- all of us? -- those expectations of how wonderful this parenting gig is can be crushing.
Let's get to the truth.
Send your truths -- stories, single words, a few sentences, a scanned in picture or graphic, to truthinparenting@gmail.com.
Anonymity and confidentiality will be strictly honored.
I'll go first in the next post, titled "Truth: I Don't Like Your Son"
Truth: I don't like your son.
This thought crosses my mind often: was my mom this stressed out about something as basic as __________.
Today the stressor in my life is a sleepover. My children, let's call them Thing 1 (a 5 year old boy) and Thing 2 (a 4 year old girl) are each having a guest today, and those guests are going to spend the night. This should be simple. Kids come over. Kid play. Kids have fun. Kids watch movie and eat lots of popcorn. Kids make a fort out of the couch pillows. Kids get out sleeping bags. Kids stay up really late giggling. Kids sleep. Kids wake up late. Dad makes pancakes. Guests go home.
If only.
One of the children arriving is a poster child for Ritalin. Unfortunately, he's not on it. Thing 1 thinks of this boy as his best friend, and they can have their splendid childhood friendship moments. Until Friend does something mean or downright abusive and my son gets his feelings or his body hurt. Thing 1 forgives over and over, and nothing any adult seems to do can curb Friend's behavior. My husband and I are very good friends with Friend's parents, which makes the situation so ridiculously complicated. They boys are also in Sunday School together, and will be for years to come.
Should I decide to sever the relationship, we'd all be in for a lot of pain. My husband and I would lose good friends, and we tend to be shy "one friend at a time" folks. But my son.
Here's the "Truth in Parenting" angle.
Truth: We mothers don't like everyone else's children as much as we like our own.
Truth: I do think my parenting choices are often superior to those of other parents.
Truth: We are so thankful when our own children's challenges are small.
Truth: I am willing to let my son get a little hurt in order to avoid an uncomfortable social situation for myself and the possible loss of my own friends.
No one ever said the truth wouldn't hurt.
Today the stressor in my life is a sleepover. My children, let's call them Thing 1 (a 5 year old boy) and Thing 2 (a 4 year old girl) are each having a guest today, and those guests are going to spend the night. This should be simple. Kids come over. Kid play. Kids have fun. Kids watch movie and eat lots of popcorn. Kids make a fort out of the couch pillows. Kids get out sleeping bags. Kids stay up really late giggling. Kids sleep. Kids wake up late. Dad makes pancakes. Guests go home.
If only.
One of the children arriving is a poster child for Ritalin. Unfortunately, he's not on it. Thing 1 thinks of this boy as his best friend, and they can have their splendid childhood friendship moments. Until Friend does something mean or downright abusive and my son gets his feelings or his body hurt. Thing 1 forgives over and over, and nothing any adult seems to do can curb Friend's behavior. My husband and I are very good friends with Friend's parents, which makes the situation so ridiculously complicated. They boys are also in Sunday School together, and will be for years to come.
Should I decide to sever the relationship, we'd all be in for a lot of pain. My husband and I would lose good friends, and we tend to be shy "one friend at a time" folks. But my son.
Here's the "Truth in Parenting" angle.
Truth: We mothers don't like everyone else's children as much as we like our own.
Truth: I do think my parenting choices are often superior to those of other parents.
Truth: We are so thankful when our own children's challenges are small.
Truth: I am willing to let my son get a little hurt in order to avoid an uncomfortable social situation for myself and the possible loss of my own friends.
No one ever said the truth wouldn't hurt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
