Sorry for the delay.
No, really. I’ve been trying to post daily, and to schedule posts so that there’s always something [hopefully] interesting to read.
I was ready to write something out, too. I was brewing a post last night before bed. Something… entertaining.
But I became distracted, while my life crossed tumbled over the line into official parenthood:
“I’m proud of you because ______.”
“You are such a good kid.”
“Thank you for putting forth so much positive effort to get _______ done.”
“Thank you for doing such a good job learning how to ___________.”
“You can choose how you’re going to look at this __________ situation.”
“You are SO smart!”
“You are such a good-hearted kid.”
“I love you more than (peanut butter) loves (jelly).”
Natural Consequences: the universe’s way of parenting you into doing what’s right.
I parent by means of natural consequences. Mostly. If I’ve asked the kids to put on a long sleeve shirt and a jacket, and they refuse, then I allow them to be cold when we leave the house. If I give them instruction on how to do something, and they refuse, then I allow them to see what happens when they take another route. Sometimes they find a suitable solution. Other times, they must start over in order to get what they had originally wanted.
Even while being out of school, I’m finding it difficult to take care of all of our responsibilities. We do a sufficient job– we clean thoroughly once every two weeks, and do a little maintenance along the way. I get all of the laundry done once a week, and I usually have it all put away. Minus the kids’ stuff- it’s their job now to put their clothes away. Landon cleans the kitchen at least once a week, and the cat box gets cleaned once a week. We do a pretty good job with just the bare essentials.
Warning: this topic may not be suitable for work.
First Corinthians, Chapter Six, Verse Twenty:
“Therefore honor God with your body.”
(Omitted, the first part: “You were bought for a price…”)
First Corinthians, Chapter Six, Verse Eighteen:
“He who sins sexually sins against his own body.”
(Omitted, the first part: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside of his body, but…”
She tells us that we sound like a herd of cattle running up and down the stairs.
She tell us to listen to our feet, to pay attention to the clamor it creates.
But that never crosses our minds as we run and jump and fly like birds up and down the stairs. We never consider that the pounding of our soles against the steps could possibly be like a pack of wild animals tearing through the house. Why should we consider it? After all, we are only children, not cows. Let the cows worry about sounding like cattle.
I want to teach them that firemen are heroes, and that the earth is naturally magical. I want them to learn that you win more flies with honey than vinegar, and that if you can express yourself fully, you can work through those feelings and choose always to feel good. I want them to feel safe in questioning how the gravity of the moon affects our bodies, and at the same time understand that there is much to learn about science and the universe in which we live. I want to help them never to lose their imaginations, and to realize that what one person teaches them to be true is perfectly true to the person who is doing the teaching even if it might be false to you. I want them to understand that one cannot truly assess the value of a person based upon what they look like, or to which parents they belong. I want them to understand that time and money are a construct of mankind– and only have to matter based on how much they want them to matter.
Empathy in my job is important. It’s what drives me to go above and beyond for every family. My instincts and experience are what push me in the direction of urgency or accommodation depending on the circumstances. My empathy is what will make me a great doctor one day
