6 Things this Mom has done right-Part 1

I've had a lot of I got nothin's lately
so I dug a little deeper and realized ...
I've got this

6 Things this Mom just Might have done Right - Part 1

Part 1 ... cause you know you don't have the attention span of a gnat.

You. Are. Welcome.

1. I have laughed ... hard.

The - best - therapy - ever!

My #3 was in preschool. He came home one day and wanted to know what the middle finger meant. I immediately gave him the appropriate mommy speech.

Me: Sweetie, we never do that cause it's like potty mouth. It’s very yucky, ok?

#3: Okay mommy - all while smiling his most disarming chubby-faced smile.

Next day.
Phone rings.

or that one son ...
Tellin it like it is!!

#3's School: Mrs Kohler, your most adorable son has been sent to the office for flipping off his teacher … with both hands.

He double-whammied her!!! (That's a thing you know)
I could totally picture his honestly adorable 5-year-old-self standing there with both hands in the air - while smiling from ear to ear.

Well, I’m sorry. That’s worth every guffaw and cackle I could muster. And then, there was more. We found out that his obviously-not-experienced-with-anything-bad-in-life teacher was devastated by it. I mean really upset.

That did us in. He was five years old for goodness sake. And he was sitting in the office smiling from ear to ear! Apparently quite proud of himself especially with the reactions he got. My only regret is that I didn’t get to see it myself.

There I said it. I’m bad.

2. Pulled my kids out of school for ... sometimes I just wanted them home.

Don't freak out.

When they were wee little ones sometimes we (I) needed a mental health day ...it's a thing too.
Not having to get out of our pajamas, not having to worry about other kids for a few hours, just watching a movie or playing with toys or reading books. Ahhhh!

Sometimes, when they were a bit bigger, we'd pull up to school. I'd run in to the office and sign my girl out for the day.

School office: Why is she leaving today, and what time will she be back?
Me: Family reasons... and No.

Then she'd walk out of class and down the hall and see me just standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

Me: We’re going to the beach! 
My Girl: ~squeals of delight~

Nothing better I tell ya.

A couple of years in a row, while we were living in Canada, we informed all of the teachers (four kids= lots of teachers) that they wouldn’t be at school for a couple of days that week. It was American Thanksgiving for goodness sake. Turkey doesn’t taste right on Saturday, it must be eaten on the 3rd Thursday of November. And then there’s football watching and baking and Christmas decorations. It’s serious and we needed it.

Or, leaving on vacation a little early, coming back a little late.

Maybe, just maybe, letting them sleep in on Monday morning cause they’re doing so well in school and they’re tired. And you're tired.
Letting them sleep in on Monday morning cause they’re not doing so good in school and they’re exhausted from trying.

We sometimes just all need the break.

You know your kids. These personal or family days, or mental health breaks, they're like life lessons for your-sooner-than-you-can-imagine-they-will-be-adults children.

Teaches them an invaluable lesson
Yes. Life is hard work and some times life is just Hard.

It’s good to know when to stop and breathe or jump in the sand.

3. Admitting I was wrong when I was wrong.

This isn’t self-deprecating “woe is me” mommy behavior.
This is honest, introspective, grown up talk.

Read this one through ... I'm not alone here.

This is recognizing when you yelled too loudly
       smacked someone when you should have taken a time out yourself
       ignored a child when you should have sat on the floor and played
              or read
              or listened.

This is recognizing your imperfections and realizing that you can still parent in the middle of them. In fact, the best parents or leaders or mentors are the ones that are obviously flawed and show us how to work through the mess.

They’ll learn from you what it's like to handle themselves when they are wrong.

This isn’t an “if” but a “when."


I have a few more on my list of things-this-mom-has-done-right.

Stay tuned ...