Partly driven by Lent and partly by a desire for a calmer household, I've been making a very conscientious effort to be more patient and even-tempered lately. (Not that I wasn't trying before, I swear!) And, even when I'm not feeling so patient on the inside, I've been trying to keep my voice even and "pleasanter" so I don't sound like a raving lunatic so often. Having a small child that is a small monkey with selective hearing makes this challenging. (Note to Ben, you cannot 'qualify' for cookies after breakfast so don't bother to have a tantrum about that one again, OK?)
In yet another ongoing household experiment, I've come to realize that children reflect my mood like little mirrors. When I'm happy and bubbly, we're all happy and bubbly. When I'm feeling stressed or moody, they are too. Biologically all this reflection this makes sense because children are programmed to copy their parents to learn language and behavior. I just never realized that this applied to emotions too. It's only taken 7 years of observations to get to this point of realization. Good one, Scientist CC.
So, the positive news is that I can, in part, control how pleasant and kind we are to one another during the day just by setting a good example! Just!! So that's not so bad, right? A calm mom coupled with the lack of food dye and nearing the end of the terrible 2s means that things are going to steadily improve!
The bad news is that this parenting thing has just gotten a little bit harder...again. There are already so many other things to think about on a daily basis (raising children with healthy bodies, healthy minds, coordinating schedules, managing bookbags, juggling activities, supervising homework, pulling Ben off the furniture, doing the household stuff, etc., etc.). Now, I have to try to do an even better job of keeping it a postive attitude, even through some of the less pleasent stuff (the "drudgery"). One thing at a time, I guess.
Speaking of one thing at a time, it's awfully quiet upstairs....where's Ben?
(Oh, right, he's eating the toothpaste again. Awesome!)
You're so right! The same can be said for teaching. The class always mirrors the teacher's attitude. We have the ability to make a situation better or worse by the attitudes we exhibit. A sense of humor often goes a long way.
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