There were so many days I thought no one was listening to me. I’m sure every parent can relate to those times when the words are flowing…you know the feeling when you’re on a roll and dispensing pure gold…you could be making an Oscar acceptance speech, they’re so good. You should be recording this for a parenting magazine because you make so much sense!
Then you look around and realize that no one is listening to you…their eyes have glazed over and you know that all they are hearing is Charlie Brown’s teacher saying “waaaa waaaa waaaa waaaa waaaa”. Your pearls of wisdom have been wasted.
Is Anyone Listening?
But have they really? It turns out that even when it seems like no one is listening, some of the lessons are getting through. You may not know it today or tomorrow, in fact, you may not know it for years to come.
Recently my darling adult children have admitted that I may have been right about a few things…including sunscreen and sanitizer.
All those years of fighting with them to put on sunscreen and being ridiculed for my use of hand sanitizer, and now they all use both! It took global warming and a global pandemic, but I’m choosing to believe that they have come to accept and acknowledge the wisdom of my words!
Experts All Around Us
Remember those times when you would say something over and over again and be ignored, then someone else would say it and all of a sudden it was a good idea?? I remember getting flack for feeding my family whole grain pasta. They would eat it but not without complaints about how bad it tasted.
Then Max had a hockey coach who talked about the importance of eating whole grains. I remember us going to a hockey game and stopping at Tim Hortons and he ordered a whole grain bagel. He then proceeded to tell me that the coach had explained to them how important it was to eat whole grains; I just bit my tongue and agreed.
Although I have to admit that sometimes it works in reverse. Bridget has been telling me for years that I should be doing yoga and I was afraid of it because I am very inflexible. I was following a gentle stretching video but doing the same stretches every day. SO, since she finally convinced me to give Yoga with Adriene a try, I have found that I feel stronger and that it’s okay that I don’t look anything like Adriene as I attempt the poses; I really am building flexibility and strength as I try them!
Parents Take Heart
I think the real test will come when they have their own children. I remember my appreciation for the lessons my parents taught me increasing exponentially when I was raising my kids. All those times when I heard my mom’s words coming out of my mouth and I knew that the lessons she had taught me had seeped in even when I pretended I wasn’t listening; who knows what pearls of wisdom are making it through to our kids?
I will be curious to see if they take their children to theme parks wearing matching t-shirts, because that’s another one they ridiculed! Only time will tell…
