Arguments

Arguments, they always seem petty; whether it’s two friends or a parent and child. Ironically, no matter how old you become you’re still a child to a parent. (Just some words of wisdom to remember when you are 30 and arguing with your parents) In arriving back home one evening I was approached by my middle child with the evening report. “Ma,” he says. “Brooklynn (the youngest of the three) has gotten into an argument with her new friend and won’t apologize. So I took her bike inside.” Ignoring the part where he decided to punish his sister, I went in to find out the sorted details. Brooklynn, nonchalantly watched Hanna Montana as if nothing happened. I sat next to her and asked, “What happened, I thought you liked your new friend?” Hesitantly, she explained, she was trying to do a nice thing but her friend went home upset and would not talk to her. After a few moments of coaxing she decided to mend things with her new best friend. She returned happy, the friendship was saved. How many things have we let slip away because of pride? How many people? How many opportunities?

Riding the Bus

After careful consideration and convincing I decided to allow my 10 year old son to catch the bus; his anticipation was building and he could not wait until Friday when he would catch the city bus for the very first time on his own. I believe this was a greater challenge for me than for him. I was determined not to let my fear influence his courage. See he never thought, "What if I caught the wrong bus and is unable to call my mom", which was my fear. But what he didn’t know is I had secretly planned to follow him just to make sure he made it safely. How can we as parents let them make such brave independent decisions without the worry? Knowing this was a big step in his life, I knew I couldn’t hinder this defining “male” moment. So, I drove to the bus stop where he would be getting off the bus. But he was not there. I drove to his school and he was not there either. Panic began to set in. My fear was starting to surface. An ache came over my heart. Pretending to be brave I drove home and suggested to his baby sister who was also beginning to worry, “He probably is at home.” He was not there either. As I turned to leave to search the perimeter to locate my missing 10 year old son, we approached the end of our street he appeared with a big smile. I smiled back

Driving School 101

“While teaching my son the basic fundamentals on driving I became aware; aware of how as a parent we want security and stability for our children but live recklessly, without care for our future and our dreams. For example, approaching a red light I stated to my son, “The quickest way to death is running red lights”, hoping to create a consciousness in his sub- consciousness. But in turn it created one in mine. I began to ponder; how many red lights have I ran for the sake of being late. Do I expect more from him than I expect from myself, how I can require for him to follow the rules when I so blatantly disregard them? Do we offer excuses on why there was an exception at the time when we did it? This can also be said for dreaming. As parents we root for our children to become great; to do their best and have outstanding morals, while we sit in the complacency of a stable income and robbing peter to pay paul. When you run red lights your child sees there's a chance you may not die. When you are working solely to pay bills and is not happy in what you do or what you offer they also see that there’s a chance that they are also willing to take.”