Today Maddie wouldn’t go to school. And this time I didn’t care. I really didn’t.
Well, at first I was kind of miffed, and then I decided to let it go. It’s amazing what letting things go can do for you!
I was in a good mood all day. I wasn’t mad at Maddie. She wasn’t mad at me. I wasn’t mad at myself.
Maddie even did all the things I asked of her with little prodding. She did her homework while I was out, made herself dinner, and took a shower on her own. She even remembered to brush her hair afterwards. That’s new!
I played a card game with my kids tonight. We hugged and laughed and were happy together. I enjoyed my children. Isn’t that nice?
Tomorrow is likely to be fine in the school department. It’ll be Wednesday, so Maddie has something to look forward to. I expect a relatively easy (for us, anyway) morning.
It’s one of those times that I feel good about my parenting. I definitely had a choice to make this morning. I could have pushed Maddie to go to school, an effort that most likely would have been futile. And I would have ended up frustrated and angry and exhausted and stressed out. But I chose the zen approach–go with the flow. And guess what! It turns out the flow is kind of pleasant.
And really that’s not a surprise. I’m generally a go-with-the-flow kind of person. I often say I’m flexible to a fault. But when it comes to parenting, there are times when you have to stick to your guns. It’s harder than giving in, but it must be done.
On the other hand, sometimes it’s okay to give in. Not just okay, but the right thing to do. I wasn’t giving in to Maddie, though. I was giving in to the situation. Giving over to my life as it is. Accepting things, really.
And it was liberating.
Life Lesson #27, I guess.
The Year of Living Hopefully 