Yep. Back on the writing horse again. Good thing I don't have too many readers dependent on my witty musings awaiting posts! But seriously, thank you to all of you who do stick with me and read when I write - it's appreciated!
A good friend of mine reposted a blog article on Facebook - have to say I'm jealous I'm not at that level of getting reposted yet! She said this was exactly how she felt about parenting so naturally, I'm in. I have to say I loved the article. Because I agreed with 90% of what was said, but also because it was nearly written as if I wrote it. Minus the run on sentences. It was a short commentary not only on parenting but what our society has come to as a whole.
While we each have our own opinions on where this world is going, I'm going to have to agree with this particular blogger - that we are all too reliant on our blessings. Every one has all these emergency problems that really aren't problems at all. She reiterated the same commonly used phrase - First. World. Problems.
A bunch of people from my church are taking a mission trip to Ecuador in August to help serve at a church that was financially supported by our church, and visit with children they sponsor there. Which makes you think. These people have so little, they rely on financial support from people they will most likely never meet in another country to make life possible. Now that's a problem. Not that you left your iPhone charger at home and your phone is dead. Candy Crush Saga will have to wait.
Over the last couple of days my sink has piled up with dishes and things that went too long in the fridge. Today I started the tedious task of tackling that mountainous load of nasty. Well my kitchen sink is on the fritz and I'm getting frustrated, wanting to get things cleaned up but can't because the drains back up when I run water and the disposal pushes water into the other side of the sink ... NAS. But then, I reflect and think ... Garbage disposal, food, dishes, ... SINK. First world problems. I honestly couldn't agree more. Why do I let these things bother me? What does that attitude say to my daughter? Here Emma, please grow up completely ungrateful for all the amazing opportunities and blessings our family has because we don't have the right kind of tablet for you to play on. Or because you won't have a cell phone before you're 10 ... don't get your hopes up pumpkin, I'm tellin you now it ain't happenin!
One thing I focused on when I was pregnant was parents in public and how they interacted with their children. I was in the grocery one day and vowed to never name my kid Bella. Why? Because there was a mother traipsing around the entire store - seemingly following me - calling her pretty little Bella 987 billion times ... "Bella, come here Bella! Bella baby come here! Bella! Bella want a cookie! Bella Baby! Come here Bella!" I'll be honest, I LOVE children, but by the end of my trip I wanted to smack little Bella who wouldn't behave for more than 3 seconds with or with out a cookie bribe. I could be wrong, but I've seen children like this in my swim lessons before who get what they want. If I act like this and resist long enough, mom/dad/whomever will give me what I want. Discipline and take charge parental attitude is gone and is replaced with - here, take, it's yours, whatever you want - it's easier that way. But just because it's easier, does that make it right?
Now I understand, every parent is different and certainly every child is different, so I'm not judging, we do what we need to to get through the day. But we should make more conscience choices shouldn't we? Shouldn't we be striving to teach our children something more? I sometimes feel that gets lost in the shuffle.
Sure it's popular to joke and say that when we can't decide where to go for lunch, Chipotle or Panera, we have first world problems ... but we really DO have First World Problems. We are the richest people in the world and sometimes we forget that.
So here's a challenge to you - parent or not - don't have a "First World Problem" for a week. Now I don't mean don't let anything happen ... I mean, don't post about it on Facebook with the joke line attached. Things will go wrong, some bigger than others, but it doesn't have to bother us. It doesn't have to ruin the moment. When we get to the boiling point of - I can't freakin believe this is happening to me - we can go ahead and think about the people in Africa who are welcomed onto military bases for work and eat out of dumpsters. Desperation. Children who's mother was murdered in front of them and their father is in prison with AIDS and they are in an orphanage. Abandoned. Parents who have no choice but to give their children up because they can barely feed themselves let alone another mouth. Survival. Those are problems. Not you leaving your cell phone out in the rain ... yeah I'm an idiot, I know.
Challenge yourself to see the realities and handle it. I'm challenging myself.
I swear I won't cry when the last Klondike is gone ... SWEAR!
A good friend of mine reposted a blog article on Facebook - have to say I'm jealous I'm not at that level of getting reposted yet! She said this was exactly how she felt about parenting so naturally, I'm in. I have to say I loved the article. Because I agreed with 90% of what was said, but also because it was nearly written as if I wrote it. Minus the run on sentences. It was a short commentary not only on parenting but what our society has come to as a whole.
While we each have our own opinions on where this world is going, I'm going to have to agree with this particular blogger - that we are all too reliant on our blessings. Every one has all these emergency problems that really aren't problems at all. She reiterated the same commonly used phrase - First. World. Problems.
A bunch of people from my church are taking a mission trip to Ecuador in August to help serve at a church that was financially supported by our church, and visit with children they sponsor there. Which makes you think. These people have so little, they rely on financial support from people they will most likely never meet in another country to make life possible. Now that's a problem. Not that you left your iPhone charger at home and your phone is dead. Candy Crush Saga will have to wait.
Over the last couple of days my sink has piled up with dishes and things that went too long in the fridge. Today I started the tedious task of tackling that mountainous load of nasty. Well my kitchen sink is on the fritz and I'm getting frustrated, wanting to get things cleaned up but can't because the drains back up when I run water and the disposal pushes water into the other side of the sink ... NAS. But then, I reflect and think ... Garbage disposal, food, dishes, ... SINK. First world problems. I honestly couldn't agree more. Why do I let these things bother me? What does that attitude say to my daughter? Here Emma, please grow up completely ungrateful for all the amazing opportunities and blessings our family has because we don't have the right kind of tablet for you to play on. Or because you won't have a cell phone before you're 10 ... don't get your hopes up pumpkin, I'm tellin you now it ain't happenin!
One thing I focused on when I was pregnant was parents in public and how they interacted with their children. I was in the grocery one day and vowed to never name my kid Bella. Why? Because there was a mother traipsing around the entire store - seemingly following me - calling her pretty little Bella 987 billion times ... "Bella, come here Bella! Bella baby come here! Bella! Bella want a cookie! Bella Baby! Come here Bella!" I'll be honest, I LOVE children, but by the end of my trip I wanted to smack little Bella who wouldn't behave for more than 3 seconds with or with out a cookie bribe. I could be wrong, but I've seen children like this in my swim lessons before who get what they want. If I act like this and resist long enough, mom/dad/whomever will give me what I want. Discipline and take charge parental attitude is gone and is replaced with - here, take, it's yours, whatever you want - it's easier that way. But just because it's easier, does that make it right?
Now I understand, every parent is different and certainly every child is different, so I'm not judging, we do what we need to to get through the day. But we should make more conscience choices shouldn't we? Shouldn't we be striving to teach our children something more? I sometimes feel that gets lost in the shuffle.
Sure it's popular to joke and say that when we can't decide where to go for lunch, Chipotle or Panera, we have first world problems ... but we really DO have First World Problems. We are the richest people in the world and sometimes we forget that.
So here's a challenge to you - parent or not - don't have a "First World Problem" for a week. Now I don't mean don't let anything happen ... I mean, don't post about it on Facebook with the joke line attached. Things will go wrong, some bigger than others, but it doesn't have to bother us. It doesn't have to ruin the moment. When we get to the boiling point of - I can't freakin believe this is happening to me - we can go ahead and think about the people in Africa who are welcomed onto military bases for work and eat out of dumpsters. Desperation. Children who's mother was murdered in front of them and their father is in prison with AIDS and they are in an orphanage. Abandoned. Parents who have no choice but to give their children up because they can barely feed themselves let alone another mouth. Survival. Those are problems. Not you leaving your cell phone out in the rain ... yeah I'm an idiot, I know.
Challenge yourself to see the realities and handle it. I'm challenging myself.
I swear I won't cry when the last Klondike is gone ... SWEAR!
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