Stimey had an incident yesterday that left her feeling a bit bruised and battered in the parenting
sense, and I know we’ve all had things happen that made us feel less than the perfect Mrs. Brady. And the ones who think they are the perfect Mrs. Brady? They’re kidding themselves.
We do the best job we can as parents but kids don’t come with a manual and we make mistakes. Things happen when we’re tired and overwhelmed but for the most part we don’t damage our kids. They are resilient and generally grow up just fine in spite of our blunders.
The good far outweighs the bad and we forgive ourselves for our missteps because we are human. Then because we blog, we tell our stories and we laugh because the kids are wonderful in spite of the things we do sometimes.
When my son Andy was in 5th grade we got a note from his school saying he had failed the eye test. Really? Not a big deal, he’s probably having a little trouble seeing the board in class. We took him to the eye doctor for a complete exam and sure enough, he needed glasses.
Andy always sat close to the TV but I thought it was a kid thing; don’t all kids want to practically press their noses against the screen? When he held a book he held it up and in front of his face instead of looking down at it in a relaxed fashion like most kids do. I thought that was a quirk carried over from when he was a toddler. He learned to read at 2 and a half and I figured the way he held a book was simply a habit from early on that just “stuck”. I really didn’t think too much of it.
When they were ready we took Andy to get his glasses. It seemed so uneventful. Andy was not a kid to make a big deal out of many things. He let the technician check to make sure the glasses fit well, answered her questions about how well he could see, and waited quietly while she made a few adjustments and we were on our way. Again, no big deal.
In the car on the way home Andy started reading every single thing he could see through the car window. His voice was getting higher pitched and louder and frankly it was getting a bit annoying. I was about to ask him to ‘knock it off’ – but before I had the chance - in a voice filled with excitement and awe he asked “WOW. Does EVERYBODY see like this?!!???”
Okay? Worst Mom ever.
So what have you done that made you feel like the worst parent in the world?
Awww!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one. I can imagine your feelings after hearing that. This is one of the things I love about blogging: the knowledge that I am not alone!
ReplyDeleteNot even close Stimey, never alone. :)
ReplyDeleteNo, my parents were the worse.
ReplyDeleteThey use to take us on their Sunday drives, made us sit in the back seat, windows rolled up, while they puffed away!
Today that would be considered child abuse!
You're not alone for sure. Even with the glasses story. My myopic friend went through the same thing as your son in the 5th grade. Finally tested and prescribed glasses, she gazed with wonder at the trees as she didn't realise one is supposed to see the leaves!
ReplyDeleteI love that story. This isn't quite on that level, but just yesterday we were on our way home from the book store. Both kids were in the back seat reading their new books. My youngest was having trouble with a word and asked her brother for help. He didn't want to be disturbed so very rudely told her "no". Of course, my husband and I asked him to consider being a little kinder and help her out. The next word out of his mouth is "Fine". Again, we scolded that it would be nice if he did it with a little less attitude. After the 2 and 1/2 minute scolding he calmly looked at us and said, "no, the word was 'fine'". We were all silent, and then we burst out laughing.
ReplyDeleteI do have a friend who broke both of her arms and her parents didn't believe her until the next day. That one is pretty bad. lol.
See the leaves? Pretty sure Andy couldn't have seen those either.
ReplyDeleteSmoking in the car used to be the norm. Imagine what everyone must have smelled like?
My Mom didn't believe my sister when she broke her arm - made her wait till the next day. The 2nd time she broke her arm - my Mom believed her!
Rofl well I'm definately the Mrs Brady (tee hee) I leave my 6 yr old to watch tv while I work in the garage - it is joined on though!!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Mrs. Brady? Lol!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing individual blades of grass after I got my first pair of glasses. Yikes. So wonder I was falling where ever I went....
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've done a bunch of not-so-good parenting moves. Just can't think of any at the moment... Oh they are there and probably waiting, too!
I lost a 3 year old in Tiajuana Mexico for 20 minutes. That was probably the worst I ever felt.
ReplyDeleteOh my, in Mexico? I think I would have had to get smelling salts. :) Seeing as you said 20 minutes, I'm assuming you found said 3 year old. Scary!
ReplyDelete