180

So this is a picture of my Elijah (yes the dancing boy from the joy post a few days ago!) taking down the competition on the football field last weekend. Because I do not know a lot about sports I do not often catch good action shots...lol. I never know what's happening next on the field...where the next play is gonna go...in fact, I just shared with a friend today that up until a few months ago I thought the yellow/blue/green lines that you see on the field when you watch a football game---were really there!! lol Sad, but true.

So what's the significance of sharing this picture.

Me taking this picture...and loving it...and yelling at the top of my lungs as it happened...is a total 180 from where I thought I would be with football. When Elijah first started in flag football...I was covering my eyes all of the time during the game...lol. Even last year when he first played tackle...I winced a lot and had to hold my breath quite often when he was on the bottom of the pile. This year he and Isaiah are beyond rough. They play with a fire and play hard. They strive to annihilate the competition and I love it...lol. How and when did that happen...I'm not quite sure.

So that got me thinking about other areas of parenting where there's been a 180 and I'm not sure how and when it happened.

....trying to be my kids friend...I thought that mattered. Not more than being a parent, but still...I wanted them to like me. Now I know that if I focus on what I need to be with parenting...I don't have to try to have them like me. Somehow they just do. It's not about friendship...it's about love and respect and enjoying spending time together. family is more than friend. family trumps pals.

....trying to be supermom...is a waste of time. Having the most ultra clean home, amazing home cooked meals every single day, perfectly ironed clothing hanging in the closet, coordinated bath towels hanging on the rack...doesn't impress them. Not more than loving them, accepting them, comforting them, disciplining them, challenging them. They love me regardless of whether or not there are dishes in the sink or crumbs on the floor.

....I thought I'd never want them to leave...and if they did....couldn't they live right next door? Now I want them to fully embrace whatever God has for them. I want them to experience His world...to see life as more than just southeastern WI. I pray that they will be obedient to His leading and if that means not living close to me...not seeing me everyday then I'm okay with that. Doesn't mean I won't miss them...but what joy it will be to see them seeking His will and following His plan! This is especially true as Jordyn is in her senior year. While it is still a little shocking to me to have a child that old. I am all about her travelling, studying a year abroad, going out of state for college...finding out her path and going where He would have her.

....finally...I've done a 180 from thinking that my life has to revolve around them. While I love being a mom...and since making it a commitment to strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman/mom I have become a far better mom...I know that none of that means that my life has to revolve around them. When I lose me...when I don't give myself significance separate from them...I don't have me to offer to them. When I don't take time to just be alone...enjoy doing some things that I like to do...I am more stressed and irritated. When I give in or allow them to run over me...I don't model to them the fact that sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes you are disapponted. When they see me fully embrace life, seeking out God's will, being obedient and fully engaged in life as a woman, leader, parent, wife, child...they see a whole woman.

So anyway...that's what I got today. All stemmed from a lil picture of a big tackle.