Accomplishments related to being attached to my kids... something I struggle with...
1) cried with pride at my teen son’s music performance this morning. Not proud that he cussed the whole way to school and said that he would rather die than perform. Another accomplishment is that when he was cussing I voiced his emotions, “You’re angry. You’re scared. You’re nervous.”
2) defended my other son when my school director assumed his behavior would be poor. I repeated her words back to her as kind of a question/joke. It’s absolutely true that his behavior can be atrocious, he can be a little pill, impulsive—he’s almost 10 and like a wild thing. But only I get to assume that about him. I know she loves him. She has told me herself. He is visiting our school tomorrow—our last day of school. He goes to another school, not the one I teach at—our relationship did not work well in a teacher/student dynamic—I taught him one year and it was difficult. At our school a teacher stays with the students for three consecutive years. Fortunately there is another school with values similar to ours that he attends. Today is their last day, and he will visit our school tomorrow—our last day. He has friends at our school. Anyway, I stood up for him—he’s got a good heart—he’s getting better—a mother’s relationship with her son is complicated—it’s hard to be objective—he is a very brave person—his birthday is next week.
3) I played in the water with my young daughter at the splash park today. I traded my teacher hat for a Mom hat and joined her class at a park with water features. It was cold! And fun! We played “obstacle course”—and hula hoop and bubbles! I am proud of myself! Play is so important—I believe that now.