Good Game!

I'm pretty sure there are thousands of ways to raise a child, and there are equally as many ways to screw that kid up.  Unfortunately, because each child is different and each family is different, they don't come with a user's manual.  We just have to roll with the punches and learn from our mistakes.  And if you're new to this whole motherhood gig, believe me, you WILL make mistakes.  We can just hope that we raise our kids well enough (despite the mistakes) that they go to college, get a good job and can afford their therapy later on in life....that's my ultimate goal at least.

Don't get me wrong through this blog - I'm not a super mom.  I'm just an average mom who's honest about her mistakes and willing to learn from them.  In fact, I am probably completely screwing up my kids and now I'm making it immortal by blasting their lives on the Internet for strangers to read.

Speaking of mistakes, let's hang a one of mine out to dry.  When my daughter, Carma, was a toddler she would touch something and I would tell her no, touch again, no and then on the third time, I would lightly smack her little hand.  She was stubborn, she'd go again and again until there was a little pink patch on her hand from me smacking it.  That's what my parents did when I was little and it worked so that's what I did.  But I didn't like how it made me feel, I didn't like having to hurt my child to teach her.  So I changed my game plan.  And along the way I've picked up other ways to discipline and teach at the same time.  Not that that way is wrong, it just didn't work for me.  Lesson learned.

Those moments or mistakes are there for all of us.  And there's going to be too many to remember after awhile but those moments should make you appreciate the great job you're doing in between.  Most people don't stop to appreciate what a good job they're doing parenting.  It's a job that's never completely done - you can never just stand back, dust off your hands and say, "look what I did!"  You know what - you should do that.  Right now.  Hey - it's a work in progress - you don't think Michelangelo waited until the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted before he high-fived his crew do you?  Heck no, they were guys!  They probably patted each other on the butt saying, "good game" at least once a day.  So, give yourself a little pat - don't tell me where, it's none of my business - and say, "good game!"