Snowing in the House

Erma Bombeck once said that cleaning the house up after children is like shoveling the sidewalk of snow while it is still snowing. Isn't that the truth?

When determining the stressful nature of a job, one of the standards to measure by is how often the worker gets to see a completed job. For example, a painter who participates in repainting a wall color and then gets to admire the finished product feels less stress than the postal worker who constantly sorts letters without end.

With this standard mothers who are constantly cleaning up a house, doing the same jobs over and over without ever getting to experience a few minutes in a clean home deal with a lot of stress.

I think that it is important to recognize this in our lives and make sure that we have areas of our lives where we do get to view a completed work. Since I am going to assume that like me, your house is never completely clean, you will have to most likely find satisfaction in a job well done in a hobby for example.

Take up an art or craft. Participate in a sport where you start and finish a game. Recognize the need to sit back and say,"It is good."

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Road Trip Training

About 10 years ago when I was young and pregnant and foolish, I went on a road trip with my husband from Florida across the south to California and up the coast to the tip top of Washington. We were moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Whidbey Island, Washington because my husband was being stationed there by the Navy.

At the time we had a substitute child in the form of a very cute, yet very stubborn beagle. We took him along with us. By day 3, he would strain against us and try to run away so that he did not have to get back into the car. He felt he had a voice in the situation, that he was actually allowed to resist.

After day 5, he realized that he was not going to win. Admittedly it was a little sad. We broke him. I am sure that he was convinced that everyday for the rest of his life, he would have to be trapped in that car all day long. He meekly allowed me to set him in the car, laid his little head down and sighed.

I learned a good mothering principle. Sometimes you just have to break your kids in to unpleasant truths. I try to give my kids as many options as I can. We work really hard to give them a voice and allow them to be who God created them to be. On some things though, there can be no compromise.

For us, we travel a lot. We have had to break our kids the same way we broke the dog. There is no whining, no fussing, no crying. Just get in the car, read your book or go to sleep. Those are the only choices. I just refuse to be trapped in a car with poorly behaved children.

It is a good principle for even more important lessons though. There are just some things in life that we will not compromise on. We will be kind and loving people. We will speak and act respectfully. If you do not give in on these things an inch, they will not have the opportunity to take a mile.

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What an Awesome Responsibility

As I was contemplating life today ( I tend to be a deep thinker), it struck me once again at what a huge and awesome responsibility it is to raise children. These little innocent creatures were given to us as a gift from God and we will be accountable for every choice we make as their parents.

There is just so much that I want to teach them. Eighteen years really does not seem like enough time! Oh I pray that God gives me the strength that I need to endure the day to day trials and to keep the true mission in sight.

From healthy eating choices, to morality, to life skills, to social skills. The amount of work is daunting. If there is one area to succeed in life beyond my own relationship with Christ, I pray that it is the parenting of my children.


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