Let go

Compromise is key. But it is against my nature. I was built to strive and to argue and to almost always get my way. I like to think of it as tenacity. This was a good quality as a teenage girl and then it served me well in university. As a teacher it works because it causes me to be a relentless advocate for my students. However, I find this rigid backbone to be an undesirable trait as a parent.

I need to let go a bit more. Let the word, "yes" slip off my tongue easily when faced with the prospects of glitter glue crafts and ink pads. Let the cheerios linger on the floor a little while longer so that I can sit down and read a book aloud to my little captive audience of two. Let go. I find this to be very difficult because I always have my own agenda. And besides, receiving a manicure from a four year old wielding a bottle of purple nail polish is downright scary.

I am learning, though - I have really good teachers. My second born is definitely teaching me compromise. That and turning a blind eye...which I am finding is a legitimate parenting technique in its own right. We have a couple of precious videos of my Grandma telling stories and one off-handed comment she makes about raising her six kids is that she "swept a lot under the rug... where it belonged". In other words, she let go. Obviously a necessity if you have a brood of six. So maybe I can take a note from Grandma and my parenting style could become a little more laissez-faire.

I am starting by letting the kids dress themselves...




...so what if they look like they're in witness protection!