Reality Check

It takes 4 people to raise my kids: Pedro, myself, the Lord, and my counselor. Yes, my counselor. Because let's face it, I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to raising children. Does anybody, really?

For over a year now *Bob* has helped me change my techniques. He's helped me learn how to control my temper so there's less yelling being done by me. I'm learning how kid's minds work (pretty cool stuff). I've learned better discipline techniques and I'm learning new ways to teach my kids responsibility and how life works in general.

This last visit, Bob told me something that's not really new to me, but somehow it got through my thick skull and I've been thinking about it almost non-stop. To condense it down, let me simply put it this way: I didn't give birth to my kids just to send them away. Okay, back up just a second. Maybe it's just summer time blues, but man, every time I hear the word "mom" out of one of my babe's mouths, I cringe and I want to run away and hide. Pretty pathetic, huh?

So Bob pointed out that my number one job right now is to focus on my kids. Raise them. Teach them. Play with them. My number one job is not to make sure the house is spotless. Back up just another little moment. See, keeping the house clean is a major issue for me. I used to be good at it. I really did. Not so much anymore. I can't find a balance between kids and house, and I'm really talented at putting house before kids (but you'd never know it by looking inside). Anyways, this whole scenario has put me on the guilt-ride of a lifetime. So now I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea of, "if it doesn't get done, will it kill me?" Nope. Of course I don't want to be living in an absolute pigsty. But some toys scattered on the floor, some dishes in the sink and a floor that needs to be vacuumed is not a life or death situation. However, taking time to listen and play with these kids that I wanted so badly (I need to remember that) is a priority. Taking advantage of teaching moments is a priority. Teaching them to work is a priority. Showing them that I'm interested in them is a priority. Teaching them to love one another is a priority. And teaching them the way back to Heavenly Father is a priority.

Easier said than done. Practice, practice, practice.