Parenting Done Right

I usually work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays.  On these days, at 3pm, S and our sitter head to the bus stop to collect W once he hops off the bus.  As soon as W gets home, he immediately runs upstairs to change clothes, then runs to the kitchen to grab a drink, sometimes a snack too.  If I don’t have a meeting, I’ll leave the door open and he’ll head into the extra bedroom that has become my makeshift office where he plops down on the bed to enjoy his drink/snack and tells me all about his day.  Sometimes he brings school projects to show me, other times we just chat.

It’s become one of my favorite parts of Mondays and Wednesdays and when I was offered the job that I eventually turned down, I immediately thought of our after school meetings and couldn’t fathom giving them up.

Yesterday, as W was explaining his day, he informed me that his teacher had gone home sick and then exclaimed, “I should make her a get well card!”.  He asked for help with spelling and proceeded to make the card for his teacher complete with a picture of them holding hands. 

I’m certain I’ve gotten a lot wrong with parenting.   There are times when I yell and immediately regret it because duh, C, it’s hard to tell your kids to quiet down or listen when you’re yelling at them.  I’m constantly reminding myself to lead by example and beating myself up when I should’ve handled situations better.  But one thing A and I continue to instill in our boys is kindness and compassion for others.  I was incredibly proud of W yesterday (and always).  We got something right.

And last night, some time after I tucked S in and said goodnight, he dropped a stuffed animal.  I sighed and picked it up, wondering if he was just stalling and trying to avoid sleep.  As soon as I handed it over, he exclaimed, “Oh, thank you!  You are the kindest mommy!” and he proceeded to hug me.

They argue, they misbehave, they occasionally throw toys, they need to be reminded to use kind words, but deep down, they get it.  They understand that their actions have an impact.  And they have the power to make a positive impact.  My sweet boys.