I tend to see the frustrating things in my kids…the things I think need changing…the things that I’m mad at myself for not being more consistent about. One example is I’ve noticed that with summer comes a lot more together time for them, and so their bickering has upped itself quite a bit. They have this thing where they insult each other, sometimes for real, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, and it drives me crazy.
So I’ve instituted that every time I hear them say something unkind, that person has to say something kind in its place. It’s been working…sort of. Jack isn’t Sara’s biggest fan. Asking him to compliment her is like asking him to wear a dress to basketball practice. This was his highest form of flattery to date that he could muster up for his big sister, after he had just slammed her, let me point out: “Your glasses seem to fit well.” It gets better. Not only does he struggle with complimenting her, he can’t stand when she says something nice about or to him (kinda weird). The other day she said his shirt looked good on him and he replied, “Now you have to say something mean to balance it out.” Unbelievable.
But I digress ever so slightly. My point being, I focus on the negatives. But I was sharing a few stories about my kids with a new friend and she said, “How have you gotten your kids to turn out like that?” The question surprised me. I don’t think I have gotten them to turn out quite yet, for one thing. But for another thing, I forget the good. I don’t see it, I don’t acknowledge it. Read the rest of this entry »















