"To be a wise parent you must become like water.
It is content to nourish all it touches
without discrimination.
While people struggle to move up,
water flows joyfully down,
filling the low places.
As you care for your children
keep their environment uncluttered,
free of useless gadgets and distractions.
Keep your conversations honest and straightforward,
free of control and manipulation.
Keep your decisions fair and generous,
free of punishment and shame.
As you conduct your life,
be serene and joyful,
content and at peace.
This will be your greatest legacy.
Nothing nurtures a child like a parent
who takes great pleasure from a simple activity,
and is content with the present moment.
Are you modeling contentment
or always wanting 'more'?"
The biggest lesson I have had to learn in life is to let go. From bereavement at an early age, to broken friendships and romance, to opportunities lost, missed, or completed, my experiences have shown me that the only constant is change. As I have learned to welcome it, I have also learned that it's best not to try to anticipate it, instead, as a friend puts it, "enjoying the moment you're in." Being present and available for my daughter is just about the only thing keeping me grounded in a world crying painfully for change that lasts. Certainly in the midst of the pandemic my ideas of parenting are challenged; there are no play dates, no library story hours--and as for raising my daughter tech-free? As my husband is fond of saying, "Fuhgeddaboutit!" While I may worry about the impact of screen time on our daughter's brain, I worry more about the impact of the isolation, however necessary; what would we do without video chats with Grandma and Grandpa, or the video story times they create? Such treasures are the gems of our days, which pass slowly as we fill them with the simple acts and tasks of everyday life. As I involve my daughter in these, step by step, I can show her that while she may not now control her environment, her life, or everything in either, she can control herself and how she responds to it all.
It is content to nourish all it touches
without discrimination.
While people struggle to move up,
water flows joyfully down,
filling the low places.
As you care for your children
keep their environment uncluttered,
free of useless gadgets and distractions.
Keep your conversations honest and straightforward,
free of control and manipulation.
Keep your decisions fair and generous,
free of punishment and shame.
As you conduct your life,
be serene and joyful,
content and at peace.
This will be your greatest legacy.
Nothing nurtures a child like a parent
who takes great pleasure from a simple activity,
and is content with the present moment.
Are you modeling contentment
or always wanting 'more'?"
The biggest lesson I have had to learn in life is to let go. From bereavement at an early age, to broken friendships and romance, to opportunities lost, missed, or completed, my experiences have shown me that the only constant is change. As I have learned to welcome it, I have also learned that it's best not to try to anticipate it, instead, as a friend puts it, "enjoying the moment you're in." Being present and available for my daughter is just about the only thing keeping me grounded in a world crying painfully for change that lasts. Certainly in the midst of the pandemic my ideas of parenting are challenged; there are no play dates, no library story hours--and as for raising my daughter tech-free? As my husband is fond of saying, "Fuhgeddaboutit!" While I may worry about the impact of screen time on our daughter's brain, I worry more about the impact of the isolation, however necessary; what would we do without video chats with Grandma and Grandpa, or the video story times they create? Such treasures are the gems of our days, which pass slowly as we fill them with the simple acts and tasks of everyday life. As I involve my daughter in these, step by step, I can show her that while she may not now control her environment, her life, or everything in either, she can control herself and how she responds to it all.
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