Last week was pretty slow and so on Thursday Kira and I decided to go to the park. She was so excited to see so many kids there to play with... I was kinda bugged that all the benches were taken... but that' s okay. I can deal. Kira went off to play and almost immediately got rebuffed by two girls that were very firm about Kira NOT playing with them. Kira was upset and wasn't sure what to do, with her being an only child she doesn't have a lot of experience with other kids being mean to her.
I asked her to come and talk to me and we talked about how sometimes kids are just mean and that I was sorry they hurt her feelings BUT there were lots of things to do at the park and we could do them together (so I guess it didn't matter that the benches were full after all)
So we climbed ladders and she went down the slides and I'm pretty sure she had a good day anyway. BUT what really struck me was how much I want to protect her from anything in the world that would hurt her. There are, of course, lessons to learn and she's going to have to learn them no matter how much I don't want her to hurt.
It occurred to me then and a couple time since then that she is not a baby anymore. She is still so young but she's growing up and all we can do as parent's is teach her the best we can, have patience with her and be there to support her as she struggles and succeeds. That's all we can do as parents.... that and pray really hard that the Lord will help us as we help our children. I now know how the Lord feels when we are in pain. Watching her being told they didn't want her there hurt me maybe more than it hurt her. Knowing that this won't be the last time she'll ever hear that from someone. It made me wonder how our Heavenly Father feels when he hears us say that, or something just as mean to another or about another one of his children. That thought makes me want to try harder to be a little better everyday.... and one day maybe I'll be able to get to the top of the "mountain" and be the person I'm really trying to be....
5 comments:
Good thoughts, Tennille! I had a hard time when Eliza first started going to Preschool (she goes Tues/Thurs) because some of the kids were so clique-ish. They would tell her that they didn't want to play with her and say mean things, but she has really learned to hold her own. I definitely think that this has been one of the hardest times of motherhood. Unfortunately, I think it only probably get worse. I really, really don't want to think about adolescence. It also makes me admire how well my mother stayed out of it.
P.S. Kira is cuter than ever! :)
Seeing your kids hurt is so hard! And you're so right, usually it hurts us more than it hurts them. I usually just try to drill into my boys head as a "what not to do", if it made you feel bad, don't ever do it to someone else. Still sucky though. Good thing she has a good mommy who will play with her at the park!
I think that is one of the hardest things we as parents have to go through. Teaching our kids and hoping everything turns out alright. It hurts my heart that those girls chose not to play with her. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us they were wonderful to read.
So fun Tennille to find your blog! And so so true. I'm sure that's why God made us parents, so we can become more like Him.
I want to punch little kids in the face when they are mean to Natalie. Instead of all that child abuse I just imagine myself punching their Mother instead. But I totally get this. Natalie told me the other day that the kids at school think she is weird. I told her its cool to be weird, Im weird and look at all the friends I have. Love Auntie Val
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