It was late (well, late for us, and our house... past Aiden's bedtime) one night when he was so upset that it was, in fact, time to put away the toys and go to bed. If I recall correctly he told me about a billion times “you are not going to be my Mommy anymore.” The harsh, frustrated words of my 5 year old still break my heart at times, but, sometimes they make me laugh inside...I always think to myself... “I will always be your Mommy.” Nevertheless, I let Aiden tell me about 4 times how I was not going to be his Mommy, and tell me it was not bedtime. After he was finished, and waiting for me to rebuttal; I walked into his room, still firm that it was bedtime. Once he was tucked in, and I was laying next to him, waiting for him to fall asleep....he turned over, and said, “Mommy I am sorry I was mean to you.” The innocent apology of a child is just so sweet. I asked Aiden if he had talked to God, and asked him for forgiveness? I watched as my 5 year old closed his eyes, bowed his head, and said, “I'm sorry Jesus for being mean, please forgive me.” Once he was done I assured him that Jesus will always forgive him, and so will I.
This is a moment I will never forget. As a Mother it seems one of the best things I can do in my family is model this same type of humility, accept the fact that I mess up too (parenting is just an adventure...and sometimes you have to realize that you will not always be right), and give forgiveness. I have learned that my husband, Aiden, and even Natalie deserve respect enough that when I mess up, I need to ask for forgiveness too. I cannot expect my children to display humility if it is not something I model each day.
I feel like we live in such a society that “I'm sorry,” is considered weak, or something to be laughed at. Honestly, isn't it rare to see two adult people say “I'm sorry...” or admit when they are wrong? The arrogance that seems to waft through the air is so thick that I believe the only way it can be cut is to teach our children that “I'm sorry..” is actually a good thing, its healthy, and it is really a sign of faith.
Unfortunately, and fortunately Aiden's father and I are no longer together, and have not been since Aiden was about 5 months old. Talk about two very different people. It is a stressful relationship at times, and truthfully we've come so far in 5 years, however, the “relationship” must continue in some fashion because we are supposed to be raising a child together. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have said, “I'm sorry...” to Aiden's father. Truthfully, at times it might not even be warrented....but, have you ever met those people you walk on egg shells with? Those people that if you breathe the wrong way you are their arch enemy? We all have. He might be one of those people, BUT, my job is to show respect to him as Aiden's father, and continue to be a humble person, even when it is not so reciprocated. As my husband would remind me, we are not here working for earthly treasures, our treasures for our Christ-like behaviors will be in Heaven.
My point in all of this rests in the idea that we must model the person we want our children to be. If we want our children to be active, and healthy shouldn't we be active and healthy? If we want our children to be humble, gentle souls, shouldn’t we model that same behavior?
So, the moments in our house where we lay our pride down, and say “I'm sorry...” these are moments I will never forget. These are the moments that matter...
This is a moment I will never forget. As a Mother it seems one of the best things I can do in my family is model this same type of humility, accept the fact that I mess up too (parenting is just an adventure...and sometimes you have to realize that you will not always be right), and give forgiveness. I have learned that my husband, Aiden, and even Natalie deserve respect enough that when I mess up, I need to ask for forgiveness too. I cannot expect my children to display humility if it is not something I model each day.
I feel like we live in such a society that “I'm sorry,” is considered weak, or something to be laughed at. Honestly, isn't it rare to see two adult people say “I'm sorry...” or admit when they are wrong? The arrogance that seems to waft through the air is so thick that I believe the only way it can be cut is to teach our children that “I'm sorry..” is actually a good thing, its healthy, and it is really a sign of faith.
Unfortunately, and fortunately Aiden's father and I are no longer together, and have not been since Aiden was about 5 months old. Talk about two very different people. It is a stressful relationship at times, and truthfully we've come so far in 5 years, however, the “relationship” must continue in some fashion because we are supposed to be raising a child together. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have said, “I'm sorry...” to Aiden's father. Truthfully, at times it might not even be warrented....but, have you ever met those people you walk on egg shells with? Those people that if you breathe the wrong way you are their arch enemy? We all have. He might be one of those people, BUT, my job is to show respect to him as Aiden's father, and continue to be a humble person, even when it is not so reciprocated. As my husband would remind me, we are not here working for earthly treasures, our treasures for our Christ-like behaviors will be in Heaven.
My point in all of this rests in the idea that we must model the person we want our children to be. If we want our children to be active, and healthy shouldn't we be active and healthy? If we want our children to be humble, gentle souls, shouldn’t we model that same behavior?
So, the moments in our house where we lay our pride down, and say “I'm sorry...” these are moments I will never forget. These are the moments that matter...