Monday, October 6, 2008

raising a secure child

sometimes i wonder what my children will turn out like. will they be competent, mature adults who know how to take care of themselves and others. or, will they be social outcasts, banned to a life of obscurity? wandering in the lone and dreary world, with no one to be their friend because they have become social leeches, draining the life out of anyone who dares try to reach out to them? motherhood is full of phobias. this is just one on my list of many, many things to worry about on an almost daily basis. this one stems from the following photo:

why on earth is eli sleeping on the back doorstep with the door open? well, let me explain. i try to get out with my girls every once in a while. actually, sometimes we go out once a week, that combined with enrichment night and primary presidency meeting, etc... can some weeks lead to a couple of nights that i leave the children at home and go out. this was one of those weeks. eli had had enough. it didn't matter to him that i always come back, or that i played blocks with him for an hour that day. enough is enough right? so when i left, andy was faced with a sobbing, out of control three year old who refused to be consoled. solution? ignore him and he will stop. yes, it worked, he stopped after crying himself to sleep on the doorstep waiting for me to come home! pile on the guilt please!... but, sometimes a girl has got to do what a girl's gotta do. anyone up for a girls night?

5 comments:

Brianne said...

That is too sweet...Eli waiting for his mom to come home! Mother guilt is tuff, but we would never get out of the house if we stayed everytime the kids cried! I think your kids will turn out just fine though.

Jenn said...

I can totally relate to this. My kids do the same thing, well, except for the falling asleep in the doorway. LOL. It's a great picture. While I feel bad when times roll around that require me to be out of the house a lot, I also realize that ignoring my calling and not recharging my "mom" battery is not an option either. Everything in moderation. It is tough to juggle everything. I think we pile too much guilt on ourselves. We do have to do what we need to do. We are smart, loving, and nurturing mothers, but as they say "when Momma ain't happy, AIN'T nobody happy!"

Kelly Tillotson said...

remember the other picture you had of him on the floor sleeping on a hard thing like that?! hehe what a silly cute boy

Jennifer said...

That is so heart wrenching and adorable.

By the way when are we going to the movie next? :)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Now I feel guilty that you came to my party, but thanks, it was great seeing you... (are still alive!) ;) AND you carved the most awesome pumpkin!

BTW, in that first picture, I always think Benson is thinking, "Why am I always stuck between these two knuckleheads?"