Okay, so when I decided to have kids, I had absolutely no idea what I was signing up for. I had babysat a lot growing up, and had tons and tons of yournger siblings, so I thought I had a pretty good handle on what it would be like to be a mom...
And then, my first child was born.
Talk about shock. I still remember the day that my husband called his mom on the phone, three days after we brough our son home from the hospital. The first words out of his mouth were not "Hi mom!" or some other greeting. Instead, the first words spoken to her were "Were you crazy or what?" I did not hear her response, but I am sure she was confused by this greeting. His next words explained why he asked this question. He wanted to know why she had more than one kid, implying that she must have been crazy to have 5 kids.
I still think my mom and my mother-in-law were crazy for having as many kids as they did (5 for my m.i.l. and 8 for my mom), and I think now they are probably a even more crazy. After all, raising that many kids has got to take a pretty hefty toll on a person's sanity. Heck, raising 2 kids is reaking havoc on my sanity.
So, today is report card day for my son. He is in first grade, and this will be his second report card this year. It is the first year we have gotten numerical grades. I am having a really difficult time not being that mom. You know...the one that expects my kids to be the best at EVERYTHING. My kids do pretty well in school, both academically and behavior-wise. But I want them to be the best. The best reader. The best mathematician. The best artist. The most creative. The best athlete. The best behaved. The funniest. The cutest. The nicest. The list goes on and on. And neither of my kids are the best at everything. Probably no kids (other than myself, of course, when I was a kid) are the best at everything. But I still want my kids to be able to be very successful at everything they do.
So, how do you resolve those feelings with reality? Any suggestions? So for the rest of today, I am anxiously awaiting the report card...
Do Deer Eat Clover Lawns
2 years ago
2 comments:
you be the best mom you can be. and when you fall short you realize there is tomorrow to do better. and when you do better you see your kids do better. and you have to make peace with not being the best but always willing to do better, try better, be better. and you focus on the things you do best and try to do better on the things that are not your best. praise them for doing better and they will continue to try. hope this helps some.
I'm an underachiever. I just hope mine are not the worst.
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