Thursday, May 7, 2009

don't forget to look up

Tonight shortly after I got home from work Emma had a major, major melt down. It usually starts out with something small, and in this case she needed help in her room upstairs...and I said "be there in a min"....and then came the tantrum. I thought the terrible tantrums were reserved for the two year olds??? So the consequence was ...going to bed at 7:30. She cried until 9:00. I almost gave in. I don't like to see my kids cry, but at some point I need to stick to the consequence that I set. I am terrible at that. "Oh no time for breakfast because you woke up late? Here take a twinkie!" "You want to stay up late and snuggle with mom? No problem, grab your blanket." Sigh. Being a hard core mom requires that you actually do what you say. It is tough.

Parenting is a lot like hiking.

I remember when I was in college taking this great outdoor literature class, and we all went hiking to Capitol Reef and as we were navigating through all the twists and turns and trying to stay away from poison ivy and sharp rocks ... looking out for areas of danger, and also trying to keep both feet on the ground...our instructor yelled to the group. "DON'T FORGET TO LOOK UP!!"...and when we did...it took our breath right away. Cliffs as far up as we could see and at the top, a slice of very, very blue sky.

3 comments:

Toots said...

Very nice, Aim! It IS hard to stick to your word as a parent. It is so tough sometimes!
I like what you said about the hiking experience though...sometimes we forget to "look up!"

Kimberly Stookey Rocks said...

Whoa. Truth.
This morning Jax woke me at 6:30 to give me the picture frame he had made at school. His bright blue eyes, and freckled face were the first things I saw when I opened my eyes. What could be better than that. I think it will be over in five minutes, if the last six years are any indication of how quickly the time flies.
Thank you for the reminder.

Rich and Tyra said...

That is so awesome!!! I need to look up more!!! I feel like I am always looking at the ground, just getting the work done, and not enjoying these precious years that are flying by me at warp speed. I alwyas think I will enjoy it when...I need to enjoy it now or it will be gone...Thanks for the reminder!