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| That's Me, Denene—Crap Mom Extraordinaire |
We are not rich by any stretch, but the babies have all that they need and all that they want, too, and while they usually are not bratty about asking for stuff, Nick and I are keenly aware that they don’t really know most days how good they have it. Honestly, we struggle to find the balance between giving them what they need and what they want and making sure that they understand they are extremely fortunate because there are so many more children who do not get wants or needs satisfied—and that mustn’t ever be forgotten. We especially hammer home to them constantly and consistently that it’s OUR duty to reach out and offer help to people who need it in any way that we can.
So when I got a whiff of entitlement and ungratefulness floating from my girls’ general direction while we were shopping for kid Christmas present donations at Target last week, I laid into my daughters like you wouldn't believe. I mean, it got u-g-l-y.
But it was my Mari who convinced me to look at the incident from their perspective—and when I did, I realized that it was I who was being the brat. And that I wasn't considering my daughters' generous hearts.
To read about our disastrous charity shopping trip, the nasty Target blow-up and my admission to being imperfect, read "I'm A Crap Mom" in its entirety at the MyBrownBaby page on Parenting.com's The Parenting Post.
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This was great. Funny and honest. I love how raw you are in this post -- I mean, sometimes it's hard for mommies to admit that we were/are, well wrong. I'm a full time grad student and a single mom and when I get stressed or cranky or too tired, I have what I like to call "mini temper tantrums in my head." And sometimes I have them not in my hear, but out loud. Saying the same types of things you were saying ("well maybe we should give all your toys to the salvation army" -- haha. I TOTALLY see myself saying something like that.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm happy that you were able to connect with your girls and have an honest conversation. They seem really sweet and generous. And it IS an abstract concept to them, but thy seem so happy to give FUN things to kids. So so sweet.
Thanks for being so honest. I love it.
http://momdelicious.blogspot.com
It's a trip when we have to take a look at ourselves, right?
ReplyDeleteHeaded over to read it ...
Oh, and love the pic!
Winks & Smiles,
Wifey
I always feel crappy when my kids bring points up that "remind" me of things. It humbles me, lol!
ReplyDelete