Children possess a natural gift. The ability to love, no questions asked. You will find the kids in your life will hold you up on a pedestal for nothing else than being their teacher, being their friend or being their parent.
You didn’t do anything special to get on that pedestal — just being a part of their lives was enough.
But, at some point, we have to tell them the inevitable truth. Parents make mistakes too.
As humans, we are perpetually flawed, and I think it’s good not to hide this fact from kids.
Children can feel substandard in a seeming world of perfection.
But, let’s face it we are far from flawless. Adults just get better at hiding it. We like to brush things under the rug and act like nothing is wrong.
But it may actually be healthier just to throw a tantrum every now and then, as my five year old does when something doesn’t work.
Sometimes life is hard, and we make the wrong choices, or things just will not — as much as you try — go your way.
I don’t want my kids to grow up thinking they have to achieve certain things and never mess up to win my love. They’ve had my heart since the first time I saw their little peanut bodies on the ultrasound screen.
Of course I want them to try hard and always put forth their best efforts. But they never have to be perfect to make me happy.
I want them to grow up and know it’s OK to make mistakes; you’ve just got to get up, shake yourself off, own up to your faults, and give it another shot.
Making mistakes is really the easy part. It takes a strong person to admit when they are wrong, and then someone even stronger to stand up and make a change for the better. I want to be this type of role model. I want to own up to my own failures, so hopefully my children (and I) can learn from them.
Life cannot be lived without having ups and downs, without trying and failing. It’s those who keep trying, those who dedicate themselves to the struggle, who eventually find what they are looking for. Sometimes life doesn’t turn out how you think it will be. After some bumps in the road, a few stops for gas, and perhaps several wrong turns, it turns out even better.
