Wise Choices

December 4th - What was the wisest decision you made this year?


The wisest decision I have made this year is to keep trying at this mothering thing.  That sounds really silly, because I don't have a choice as I am a mother and will always be a mother.  But, parenting toddler boys is a whole new type of crazy!  It is a crazy that has seen me fail many times with my parenting decisions.  I lose my cool, I get distracted.  I have to work on forgiving myself and there have even been a few times that I have openly apologized to my children.  I am so far from perfect but I have had to learn to forgive myself for the mistakes I have made and remember that I get to try again tomorrow.  And children are very, very forgiving of their mommy's, which has taught me a huge life lesson in letting go and moving on.

Another big mothering lesson I have learned, is that each of my children are unique and have different wants and needs.  I have had to adjust my expectations for each one of them and have even had to adjust my discipline technique for each of them.  They respond differently and therefore I need to handle them differently.  By figuring out  what makes each one of them tick and how best to handle difficult situations with them, everyone is much happier!  When I get frustrated with them, instead of getting angry I look into their eyes and see into their soul and it usually helps me calm down quickly and see their little hearts who just need a little redirection, not anger from me.  

I have also learned to trust my intuition.  God has given us mom's a beautiful gift of intuition.  I have learned many times that if I follow my gut, I'm usually right.  I may not be parenting my children "by the book" but "my way" works well for our family and so that is what I will keep doing!  I still often seek out advice and research things but my heart has always led me in the right direction with the kids.  

I love being a mom.  It is the best part of my life.  But it is also the biggest challenge I have ever faced in life.  I am molding human beings right now!  Children who I hope will someday grow up and be valuable God-loving members of society.  This is no easy task and it sure does take a lot of wisdom and growth in myself to accomplish!