Daily….

Warp speed….

That is the speed I feel like my life has taken on lately.

Before my eyes my kids grow and change.

Before my eyes they emerge as these little “almost-grown, free-thinking beings”…with TONS of emotion and attitude.

Lately we have been battling the pre-teen beast.

You know….

The one that appears and stomps across the room when they don’t get the answer they want.

The one that rolls his eyes when told to do something…NOW.

We are learning that as these people grow…the way we need to parent them changes.

What worked for a child at 3 may not work at 9.

They are different people at 9..more emotional, more complex.

Plenty of times these days I have said, “Why are you crying??? do you KNOW???”

And most of the time…..

THEY

DON’T.

They only know that they are emotional…at that moment.

It is my job to teach them how to deal with those emotions and then teach them how to THINK about WHY those emotions  are there.

I try to teach them to look inward….to think about WHY those emotions are manifesting themselves.

As they have grown I have learned that-

What works for one…..

WILL

NOT

WORK

FOR

ALL.

Today my kids are 11,9,8, and 6.

Sometimes we are SPEWING emotion from all angles…

and sometimes we are CALM and COLLECTED.

And other times….

WE are the ones that need to learn the lessons.

Sometimes we are the ones that are SPEWING and need to figure out WHY…

Everyday that passes teaches me more and more about both MYSELF and my KIDS.

Thank goodness for daily lessons and having eyes open enough to SEE them.