Parenting
It's a piece of cake. Nothing to it!
I don't know whether I should or not but I always tell my kids it's the hardest job and the best job I've ever had. I know some people are shrinking from the thought of making the kis feel guilty because its hard to parent while others are having a hard time with the idea of a parent showing any sign of weakness. Sorry, but that's where I am. I try to be honest with them even forthright, okay I admit it just plain blunt every now and then. Sometimes I have the luxury of time to think about what I'm going to say to my children in an instructive way, sometimes I even get to whisper a prayer beforehand. Most times I don't have that luxury of time. I can hear the murmured Amens.
Over the summer I heard some good advice. I heard it from the national men's basketball coach at a clinic he gave. I heard it from my wife who probably forgot saying it, I heard from a pastor at a retreat, I read it in a book by John Ortberg, I heard it from a number of people, who phrased it differently but in essence they all said "keep it simple!"
Simplify simplify simplify! What's that go to do with parenting? Maybe not much directly but its got a lot to do with parents. The simpler my life is, the better I am a as a parent. When my life gets crazy, I find it much harder to have the patience I should have.
How do you simplify? Step back from some things, say no to others. Sometimes it is very hard to say no, trust me, things will survive without you. Sometimes maybe they won't but, when the choice comes for me, is it something for me or for my kids it is always a no brainer, go with the kids. Usually if it involves the kids, youll enjoy it anyway.
I should stay and clean up the grammar in this post, but I'll think I'll go home and help the kids with homework.
More later
I don't know whether I should or not but I always tell my kids it's the hardest job and the best job I've ever had. I know some people are shrinking from the thought of making the kis feel guilty because its hard to parent while others are having a hard time with the idea of a parent showing any sign of weakness. Sorry, but that's where I am. I try to be honest with them even forthright, okay I admit it just plain blunt every now and then. Sometimes I have the luxury of time to think about what I'm going to say to my children in an instructive way, sometimes I even get to whisper a prayer beforehand. Most times I don't have that luxury of time. I can hear the murmured Amens.
Over the summer I heard some good advice. I heard it from the national men's basketball coach at a clinic he gave. I heard it from my wife who probably forgot saying it, I heard from a pastor at a retreat, I read it in a book by John Ortberg, I heard it from a number of people, who phrased it differently but in essence they all said "keep it simple!"
Simplify simplify simplify! What's that go to do with parenting? Maybe not much directly but its got a lot to do with parents. The simpler my life is, the better I am a as a parent. When my life gets crazy, I find it much harder to have the patience I should have.
How do you simplify? Step back from some things, say no to others. Sometimes it is very hard to say no, trust me, things will survive without you. Sometimes maybe they won't but, when the choice comes for me, is it something for me or for my kids it is always a no brainer, go with the kids. Usually if it involves the kids, youll enjoy it anyway.
I should stay and clean up the grammar in this post, but I'll think I'll go home and help the kids with homework.
More later
posted by Bob at 9:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home