This article was originally posted on TheBLT, where I'm a guest columnist.
If you've met Maya, or if you've read anything about her on my blog, you know she's been strong-willed from day one. Literal day one, her first day on earth as a social security card-carrying human being. This, especially to a person with no children, was terrifying. Okay, it wasn't terrifying, but nearly. My first reaction was a mixture of fear and pride. Pride, because I figured she was more likely to achieve her own goals throughout life. Fear, because that pretty much blows all of my parenting knowledge out of the water. Fear, because her being more likely to achieve her goals might mean I have to lose a few more battles than I initially thought. Fear, because I assume most of her childhood would be one big power struggle between us.
Maybe God knew what He was doing when He made my first child "spirited". (God? Having a plan? Bahahahaha! Good one.) I think we can all agree that parenting can be terrifying no matter how you look at it. Every child needs direction, "spirited" or otherwise. When you think about it further—which, of course, I do—it might actually be easier to have a child that is self-propelled. Maybe not easier for everyone, but certainly for some, including myself.
I'm certain that one day, I'll exclaim to the heavens, demanding to know what I did to deserve such cruel punishment. But maybe I won't! Maybe, I'll remember these times and bite my tongue, and instead thank God for giving me at least one child that will live deliberately.
Read the article in its entirety here.
If you've met Maya, or if you've read anything about her on my blog, you know she's been strong-willed from day one. Literal day one, her first day on earth as a social security card-carrying human being. This, especially to a person with no children, was terrifying. Okay, it wasn't terrifying, but nearly. My first reaction was a mixture of fear and pride. Pride, because I figured she was more likely to achieve her own goals throughout life. Fear, because that pretty much blows all of my parenting knowledge out of the water. Fear, because her being more likely to achieve her goals might mean I have to lose a few more battles than I initially thought. Fear, because I assume most of her childhood would be one big power struggle between us.
Maybe God knew what He was doing when He made my first child "spirited". (God? Having a plan? Bahahahaha! Good one.) I think we can all agree that parenting can be terrifying no matter how you look at it. Every child needs direction, "spirited" or otherwise. When you think about it further—which, of course, I do—it might actually be easier to have a child that is self-propelled. Maybe not easier for everyone, but certainly for some, including myself.
I'm certain that one day, I'll exclaim to the heavens, demanding to know what I did to deserve such cruel punishment. But maybe I won't! Maybe, I'll remember these times and bite my tongue, and instead thank God for giving me at least one child that will live deliberately.
Read the article in its entirety here.
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