What one wants, more than anything else in the world, is to protect one’s loved ones-particularly one’s children; to see that no harm comes to them, that no evil comes near them. One longs and agonizes to keep them from physical injury; to manage the equilibrium of their emotions so they never fell hurt or pain from failed relationships or angry people.
I want to give my children the experience of all the good I have encountered in life AND give them good things instead of the disappointments. Just what could be the danger in that? Consider this: Beyond becoming a hover mother, I can easily degenerate into a control freak; managing and manipulating all the events and circumstances that touch my loved ones.
How much better would it be to provide the tools, information, and encouragement and be available as a reference rather than a manager?
May I handle the joys and disappointments in my life with such truth and aplomb that those nearest me may be EN couraged – Given courage-to face their triumphs and trials with wisdom and strength!
P. S. The picture? that’s my youngest – PS – and Me
I added another option onto my poll for you! Good call!
That’s one of the thing that scares me a little about becoming a mother. I know I can’t truly fathom how it must feel to see your child hurt, physically or emotionally, but I have an idea. I think my parents did a pretty good job balancing between control freak and non-parenting. They let us do some stuff that they thought was stupid, but we did learn from our mistakes, and that’s what’s important. It must have been painful to watch the people you loved more than your own life fall into bad situations or make bad choices, but they did it (on occasion–anything *truly* stupid was stopped before it could start) for our own good. I hope I do as good a job with my kids as they did with theirs.