Posts Tagged ‘moms’

Summer + Mama = Yes Ma’am

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

Well, I have a confession.

mean mama

I was a mean mom!

Yep, I was so high strung while my little darlin’s were growing up under my nose that I missed out on tons of COOL MOM moments.

mama 11

Oh ya, I was on top of everything! Ask my kids. They’ll tell you, I was Johnny On the Spot with my mom’n. Nobody got by me with any shenanigans and if they did, it was h a n d l e d!

I regret it. So much.

mamama

I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to raise hooligans. So, I stayed on them to follow the rules and I pushed my mom agenda on them way more than was probably necessary.

Thank goodness, they all still love me and want to be around me.

I wasn’t horrible to them. But, I sure wish I had let loose on some of my issues.

mama likey

Earlier today, I was in the check-out line at the grocery store behind a young mom with her 3 little doorstep punkins! The first one I saw was the toddler boy sitting in the basket seat. He lit up like a lightning bolt as soon as I looked at him. He smiled so big and waved so sweet that I couldn’t stop myself from joining him with my own joyous smiles. I spoke to him and asked him if he was helping mama shop. He answered back with a happy yes and then the big sister wiggled around the cart to see me. She ran over to my buggy and announced that she was there to “help” me with my things. Like a flash in my mom brain, I realized it was only a little while ago that I too, was dragging a gaggle of 3 all over Walmart trying to remember every single thing we were out of at home.

I wanted to cry.

Mama’s….those of you hauling around a pile of kids this summer, say YES! Say yes to all the fun you can. Even if it’s messy. Even if it forces you up off the couch or away from the computer (ESPECIALLY IF IT DOES THOSE THINGS). Get up, play….pretend. Watch all the “shows” your kids perform and sell you the paper tickets! Have over all the friends for play time or pool time. Throw a blanket on the lawn at night and gaze at the sky. Ride bikes all over creation. Take picnics. Live with messes all over the living room because your twerps are building forts. Set up a tent, sleep in it (or let them). Create memories. Do all the things. Do them.

But, don’t forget to make sure you teach your kids how to entertain themselves. You are not a cruise ship director! You are a mom. Every mom in this big fat whole wide world deserves to have kids that know how to play and have fun without an itinerary.

Say yes. But say no to being a slave to their happiness.

mamama 2

Now go….Be cool, Mama!

I’m Letting Go, Really

Tuesday, May 26th, 2015

I’m dead tired. Not a good dead tired either. My brain hurts, my body aches and my heart is all shredded into pieces.

So, how was your long weekend?

sometime

While most families were having a grand old time celebrating the long weekend, mine was all wonky with emotions. There were arguments, exhausting and messy packing, misunderstandings, biting comments and total disregard for what anyone else might be feeling.

That’s family, I guess.

I suppose my weekend was just another little lesson in letting go. I thought I had been doing a pretty good job of doing just that. Now, not so much.

Growing pains really are a pain.

nothing happens

This morning, I woke up with a little better perspective. My happiness depends on me. It’s not anyone else’s job to make me “feel” joy. It’s not fair for me to put that pressure on anyone around me. However, I can expect to be treated well.

I’ve asked myself some questions this morning. The kind that require SELF EXAMINATION. Ouch, to that…right?

* Were my expectations too high? Probably, but I only have limited time with all 3 of my kids. It’s normal to feel dissed when other activities take the place of time with each other.

* Am I being a toxic mom? Perhaps. Not every question or comment is laced with condemnation. I pray that God would reveal any manipulative word or guilt-filled comment from my mouth (if I speak them to my kids).

* Do I owe my kids anything? I am learning that I owe them respect and room to grow. I have boundaries but so do they. It’s important that those boundaries work both ways.

* Is my heart pure with my frustrations with my kids? I’m praying on this one.

* Do I need to back off? Yes.

firm

Mama’s, no matter what age your kids may be….growing pains sneak in and cause havoc. We can either fight it like a madwoman or we can bow out gracefully and LET GO. I’m working on bowing out. Every. Day.

wpid-20150525_200148.jpg

Can you see the heart? I found it this morning after I took this picture of my pink peonies by my porch. (Thank you Lord, Your love is everlasting!)

letting go

How NOT to Raise a Looter

Tuesday, April 28th, 2015

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve more than likely caught a glimpse of this “Mom” taking care of business.

angry mom

She is his mom, right? Who really knows the truth? The media does such a great job of misleading, bating hate and twisting stories to fit their SELL SELL SELL agenda. For me, I’m going to hold back on claiming this lady as his mother. For all we REALLY know, she could just be some ticked off lady whose had enough and this kid was in her line of fire.

You have noticed there are quite a few folks down there in Baltimore making their voices known. How does a mom happen upon her own kid in that chaos? Possible? Yes, but still…. Should we jump to conclusions? I don’t know. I can’t, just not sure.

However, I can tell you our society needs parents who give a rip about what their kids are doing in the real world. Besides it being a reflection on them (don’t give me that garbage that your kids are not a peek at who you are) WRONGO BONGO! We are all an extension of the ones who did or didn’t invest in us! More reason to be the best danged parent you can be, huh?

I don’t believe anyone who brings a child into the world starts out with the intentions of raising up a crazy, out-of-control, rioting looter. I mean, really? Who does that? Barbarians? Perhaps.

But what happens? Where do these destructive, hate-filled, outrageous people come from? Where are their mothers? Their fathers? Who taught them to do such a thing? What in the world ever convinced them that behaving like criminals was a way of seeking true justice?

It’s not civilized behavior.

I’ve been really mad before and I know how anger can escalate to something not pretty. I’ve never crossed the line into criminal behavior. Why? Because, I knew better. So, why is it that our society is so rampant with this crazy reaction whenever something goes wrong or a mistake is made?

I’m convinced that it’s a direct reflection of the lifestyles of the family.

Live like hell. Live. Like. Hell.

The old cliche, treat others like you would have them treat you…seems to be a thing of the past. Almost. We now live in a world that finds abuse, unkindness and illegal criminality normal. It feels like the thinking is do it to them before they do it to you. Only, not all of us want to smash your car windows to steal your ipad out of your car. Or rob someone’s grandma as she leaves the Piggly Wiggly with her oatmeal and buttermilk.

It’s a sad world. But this is the world we live in, a violent and hateful world.

So, how do you keep your kids from running wild and turning into a news fodder picture?

YOU LOVE THEM.

You love them enough to do the hard stuff like; DISCIPLINE THEM, HUG THEM, SPEND TIME WITH THEM, TEACH THEM THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG, HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, GIVE THEM CHORES, SPEAK KINDNESS TO THEM, COVER THEM WITH PRAYER, EXPECT HONESTY FROM THEM, BE HONEST WITH THEM YOURSELF, LIVE A LIFE OF INTEGRITY IN FRONT OF THEM, REFUSE TO LET THEM RUN WILD, ENFORCE FAMILY AND SOCIETY RULES, TEACH THEM RESPONSIBILITIES, SHOW THEM MERCY, COMMUNICATE WITH THEM, PLACE BOUNDARIES ON THEIR FREEDOMS, MAKE THEM A PRIORITY….EVERY SINGLE DAY! AND, BE A REAL FREAKIN’ PARENT TO THEM!

The world has enough of pathetic human-ing.

I don’t even know where to go with what is now becoming popular among the American society. Riots, looting, fighting, stealing from innocent businesses, assaulting others, destroying property/police vehicles. I can’t wrap my brain around any of it. This is NOT sticking up for what is right, on any level. Ever. It’s criminal, it’s evil and it’s coming to your town soon. Why?

Don’t let the media tell you injustice needs a screaming violent voice. That’s not the way to handle anything. The picture, up top….that could be his mom. But, why would a mom need to beat up her kid? If she was doing her part in his life to begin with? Maybe that answers why he’s down there doing what he’s doing.

Love your kids. Our world needs it.