I got this one from a friend. David Crawford sings about parenting from ‘bedtime when the grown-ups are ready to crash and the little guys just can’t stop’ to morning routines to trying to corral everyone for dinner…. I think it’s great.
Dec 272012
Apr 072011
On a perfect spring day, my husband and I arrived in Washington DC yesterday, dropped our bags and headed off to collect two of the world’s coolest little people. A couple of hours spent singing every verse of “She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain” followed by “eating” mulch prepared by the almost 4-year-old train conductor on the playground was sheer bliss.
We hopped into a cab, zipped across town and, in pretty spiffy surroundings, changed into our grown-up clothes to begin another “family extravaganza.” My co-author father is being inducted into the Horatio Alger Association this week; family and friends from lots of parts of his life are here to honor his achievements and help him celebrate. (By the way, Mayor Bloomberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Rohr are also part of the group being honored this year.)
I’ve attended previous meetings of the Association; it’s where I first connected with at least one of the people I wrote about in What Kids Need to Succeed. On one level I know what to expect: American Dream stories providing a truly awesome level of inspiration along with high school seniors (the Horatio Alger Scholars) who will become the real stars of three days of gala events.
But on another level, I have no idea what’s coming.
My Dad is going to be up on that stage.
Thousands of people are going to hear the story of his journey from the cold, snowy winters in New Hampshire’s White Mountains to the successful entrepreneur and philanthropist he has become. My Dad. They guy who used to carry me on his shoulders to the Kirby meetings and had me convinced that our weekend trips to land sales were vacations.
Somehow eating imaginary chicken at the playground before going to dinner on M street seems like a perfect circle.
We like SHARING:
Mar 232011
I’ve worked with lots of kids who feel pressured to be perfect… admitting that they feel the need to “perform” or “accomplish” in order to get accolades from their parents.
So if we struggle to find the balance between over-praising, praising performance and “I love you just because you’re you” what is the line between “Mommy’s sorry and shouldn’t have said that” and the constant verbal assault that some kids have to live with? There are far too many children living the life hinted at in this heartbreaking post.
I was particularly touched by the author’s sensitivity to both the mother and the child. That kind of pain doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The story reminded me of a conversation I had with a homeless Mom who was trying to get her life back on track.
We had been “introduced” by a child protection agency… and this woman’s courage and commitment to improving things for her kids was truly inspirational. We had a good rapport and were making lots of progress on finding a place to live.
And then one day she blew up at me. “Where the hell were all of you people when I was growing up?” she screamed before going on to detail the abuse she had endured.
Although I wasn’t surprised I was momentarily stunned. I was scared to death to say the wrong thing.
So I apologized. I told her I was sorry that those things had happened to her. And that no one had helped her. And that she was in a position to have to deal with all of us now. I told her that I admired her courage and her honesty…. and her desire to make things better for her kids. I told her I believed that she could.
I didn’t know what else to say. And it was true.
I want all kids to have someone to raise them up in love and delight…. to want only the best for them and be willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe and fed and educated. I want them to have choices.
I hate that so many kids have to live in poverty and violence… without enough to eat, safe schools or decent medical care…. and that despite wanting the best for their kids so many parents are struggling in so many ways.
Tell me something good.
