Parenting 101

Whew! Made it through football season now on to basketball season. Jeremy is coaching JV Boys in Haskell. This wasn't the plan. The plan was to have an off season between football and baseball. I think Finn and Jeremy might have gotten together and made a plan. If Finn played I didn't care if Jeremy coached. Finn agreed to play. Jeremy agrees to coaches. Finn quits. Jeremy still coaches! Seems a little fishy, but its all good! I love watching the boys play and it gives us another chance to build bonds with the boys before baseball season. Plus he would be there anyway cheering them on and lets be real, he's a lot louder when he is sitting beside me! 

So back to parenting. UGH! Where is the manual? When you get done with it can you pass it on to me so that I can read through it...wait, read?! Who has time for that? Anyways, there's been lots of emotions going through the Kirk house this week and I am going to blame some of it on stress. Shattered my phone (that parts ok its all the info in the phone I lost that sickens me, doctor appointments, doctors contact info, important notes, pictures, etc), sick baby [normal sick], bullying incident at school , wrecked car, and a few communication problems will make for a really hard week!

I have learned [well I am working on it] to stop, breath, relax, and enjoy my kids amongst the craziness of life. There will be great days, loving day, horrible days, hateful days, short days and long days but every day is a day we cant get back. Why did it take me so long to learn that? Oh wait, probably because I haven't read the manual. I knew this all along, I know we cant travel back in time, wouldn't that be nice, but I took advantage of time with my boys. It took a 16 year old kid to teach me this lesson, weather he knows it or not he did. I want my boys to remember the time I spent with them but I have to spend time with them before they can remember it. If you have read my blog much you know that their happiness is the most important thing to me and will always be.

Why are we [moms] so hard on ourselves? We've all been there. Are they happy? Are they sad? You've skipped homework too and sent them to bed without a bath on a late night. You've had a miscommunication on the  most important topic in their life, the paper turkey, or the "girlfriend", or the M&M's that were just for him and no one else.

Or the big one: You've forgotten to tell them you love them before they head to the bus stop and you worry all day if they know. They do.

The 4 minutes and 35 seconds you sat  with them while they scarfed down the pancakes you got up early to cook them said it for you. Even if they didn't say thank you.

Your not a horrible mom when your child's teacher ask you where their coat is. There goes your nomination for "Mom of the Year", that's what your thinking right? WRONG! The teacher doesn't know what happened the night before when said child refused to look for their coat while you prepared dinner, fixed lunches for the  next day, did dishes, started laundry, did other child's homework, cut flash cards out, chased the dogs down the street because they got out for the 239th time...today, administered medicine to the sick ones, oh yeah and you had to go to the bathroom, the bathroom oh the bathroom that is flooded because your toddler just filled up the biggest cup they could find and drained the bathtub that you forgot to drain from 10 am this morning when you were giving baths) onto the floor cup by cup. Breath, momma. You just taught your child a few valuable lessons. Forget the text that seemed like she was pointing at the most neglectful parent in the whole school. Trust me your child wasn't the only cold one!

So in the manual I don't have time to read I am learning that the most expensive thing you can buy your child is time. Stop. Hold them. Love them. The day will be gone tomorrow and you can't get it back.