Maybe ... Just Maybe

Yesterday we were walking out of the church sanctuary. My oldest was reading a book while we were walking. In fact, he had been reading the book all through the service; and I must say, it was one of the most uneventful (meaning, lack of misbehavior from my children) services lately. A former education professor of mine and a mother of three grown children (meaning she KNOWS children and is the person you run to when you need help with your own) came up behind us and said hi and commented on how great it was that my son was into reading. I agreed and added that since learning to read he had calmed down. (My son is high energy, the equivalent of two children many times.) She laughed and said, "you are doing all the right things. I remember seeing you out there (in the fellowship hall) letting him run around, running off energy. You are doing all the right things."

Ok, I don't know about you, but I have this inability to accept praise. My response to praise is to counter the comment with a list of all my past and previous mistakes. How I am so unworthy to accept any type of praises becauses I never have any patience for my child. And the only reason he was running around the fellowship hall was because the other option was spanking him within an inch of his life. And, at the time I was so frustrated by his behavior that spanking was not a good idea.

I'm learning and I kept such thoughts to myself. Instead I just smiled and nodded my head. Meanwhile, my mind is running a film of my child's short 7 years and it was mainly of all my mistakes.

Why must I wallow on the negative, and not accept the positive? Why do we forget that parenting is a journey, from newborn to infant to preschool, to early elementary, .... Each new age brings new challenges, but what we (and the children) learn from each year carries on to the next one. No one, except ourselves, are expecting to be perfect. And I think what we need in order to focus on the positive is more positive encouragement from others. So, thank you Judy for your encouragement. And now my goal this week is to pass some on to another.