The old saying is that the grass is always greener on the other side. Maybe the problem is that we're not really seeing what's on our side. Throughout our lives we compare ourselves to everyone else. So often, it seems "they" have a nicer house, nicer car, more perfect children, etc. Well, here are some of the lessons I've learned along the way.
A nicer house. I remember growing up when one friend of mine always wanted to hang out at my house. I couldn't understand that since she had a really nice, big, fancy house. That was until I went to visit her. I found out that she wasn't allowed in the living room at all. Her dog couldn't sleep on her bed with her like mine. In fact, her dog was only allowed in the family room. Otherwise he was outside all the time all by himself. Her mom yelled at her if her room was messy. So her house was definitely not better than mine, only bigger.
A nicer car. My car gets me where I'm going and has good gas mileage to boot. It is getting older so I don't know how long before I will have to replace it, but I doubt I'd get much fancier even if I had extra money to do it. I don't need to spend extra money on insurance and gas either. And I certainly don't need to panic over every little ding or scratch I might get in a parking lot. Nor do I need to be concerned with someone wanting to steal my car. I like my car. It's cute and efficient. What more do I need?
More perfect children. We always want our kids to put their best foot forward when around others. It's nice to be proud of our kids, but why can't we be happy with just who they are? When my kids were growing up, I figured out that the other parents only told me the "good" stuff about their kids. Everyone wanted to be the perfect parent and mold the perfect child. It wasn't until I had a second child that I began to realize that kids have certain personalities and traits no matter what you do. Oh, good parenting will bring out the best in a child, but no amount of parenting will shape a child into something they are not. Just love them. That's the best thing you can do for them and for you. Love them. Accept them. Enjoy them. Support them.
This is part of the Moms' 30-Minute Blog Challenge at ">Steady Mom
1 comment:
So true on all accounts! especially about loving and accepting your kids. My husband recently wrote about our son with this in mind on our Wonder and Will blog -- http://wonderandwill.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/mike-speaks-daddys-perpective-on-luke/
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