Today I encourage you to
Express gratitude your children are independent
My oldest son hasn't needed me since he was about two. It feels nice to be needed. So, this thought in my head that he doesn't need me has caused me pain from time to time.
Today I choose to look at the positive side of his independence. Isn't that what we are working toward as parents? Raising independent adults?
I encourage you to hear in every "no" an independent declaration. I encourage you to see every mess as the artifact of an independent doer. I'd like you to see every refusal as an independent stance from this independent human you are raising.
It's difficult for me when my children don't simply do as I say and comply as I want. Here, I have to remind myself to look at the big picture. I don't want my kids to go in the world as a follower. I want them to question orders from strangers. I want them to make their own decisions.
For me, as my children have gotten older, it has been bittersweet to experience their burgeoning independence. From the first time they no longer wanted to hold my hand to the first time they rode their bikes across town. And I have many more letting go opportunities in front of me. I'm so grateful that parenting offers so many opportunities to practice letting go. I'm so grateful my children are becoming more and more independent.
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