Thursday, March 22, 2012

Mama Needs to Walk Away from the Poison!

Oh, what a morning in this homeschooling home!  I don't wish to go into too much detail, but let's just say much time was being wasted, and not by me.

Oh, my patience wears so thin sometimes!

Surely if I could just scream, all would be well.  Okay, maybe not.

The truth is, I've done enough damage.  As I look back on the very difficult morning (actually, the afternoon was good for awhile and then went south again), I see how I contributed to the problem by letting my guard down and allowing myself to forget gentleness.

Gentleness in words.

Gentleness in tone.

Gentleness in spirit.

I didn't really yell or say anything bad.  But when will I learn (or consistently put into practice) that the subtleties can be just as poison as the in-your-face stuff?



The longer I know, teach, and love this precious child of mine, the more I see that I have the potential to change the direction of our course with a simple unexpected cheerful word.  Sometimes I have had the presence of mind to, in the middle of a tense "conversation," say, "I love you so much, [Little Mister]!"  Or to say, "I think we both need a hug," and throw my arms around him. Even something as simply complimentary as "Cool shirt," or, "I like your hair today," or as ridiculous as, "Nice hole in your sock--how many toes can you fit through there?" can change things around in a second. No, he doesn't get away with whatever he's trying to pull, but he responds (usually) in a more positive way, and the bad mood is diffused.  For a few minutes anyway. :)

Oh, that I would grow up and not feel so often like I have to "win" the debate every time in order to be respectable.  I mean, as the parent, my say must be the final say.  But there are different roads to that end, and I so don't want to be the poison that keeps us on the wrong road longer than necessary.


A reminder to myself:  A kind, loving, cheerful or funny remark in the middle of an escalating "conversation" can potentially change the course of things for the better!




s.co

1 comment:

  1. What a great reminder! Sometimes it can be so hard to take the high road, and be humble with our kids.

    ReplyDelete

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