mommy hood

Way back when I was in the midst of newborn frustrations and feeling overwhelmed, Susan started me in the loop of emails between herself and a friend of her's back here in CA. I have grown to consider her my friend and the three of us email almost daily. She wrote something in a recent email that I thought was so great:

"These days it is becoming more and more of my conviction that it is our job to teach and train our children. Not the youth group. Not the school. I mean, I've always known this, but I haven't FELT it the way I do now. The burden of training them falls on US, and especially on ME, since I am at home with them all day. Nowadays they watch how I respond to anger, to frustration, to stress, to fatigue. They notice if I am idle and not picking up after myself. (Z notices when I didn't make the bed). I've started doing my Bible reading time in front of them, instead of at nap time, so that they can see I am reading God's Word. They notice when I roll my eyes at C or exaggerate a story. I am really being held accountable by them."

I thought this was so insightful and such a good reminder of what an important role us moms play in our kids' lives. Whether we are home with them all day, or work, they WATCH us. Maybe Cam doesn't grasp a ton at this point, but soon enough he'll decipher my moods based on my facial expressions and tones of voice. I want him to see me react to things in a gentle and patient manner. I recall seeing my parents frustrated maybe twice in my whole life...honestly. I want Cameron to grow up to be a confident, responsible, patient (and the list could go on) man. My role modeling of those qualities is so vital.

On an unrelated note, I've started teaching Cam baby yoga. Here is one of the poses I taught him.



Please tell me you knew I was kidding! I just thought this was a funny pose he did while playing. One of his favorite things to do is to pick up a ball, drop it, and crawl to where it rolls. What a stinker. :)