My granddaughter Mackenzie loves horses. It would be safe to
say she is passionate on the subject. At eight years old she knows the
different breeds, more horse terminology than I ever will (or want to), the
different kinds of saddles, bridles, and all the other things horse-related.
Mackenzie’s love for horses has been part of who she is for as long as she has been
able to say the word. As a toddler and preschooler she spent an endless amount
of time on her hands and knees galloping, bucking, trotting, cantering, and
grazing like any horse worth their weight in hay would do.
It was the grazing, however, that brings me to today’s parenting
reminder…
We were outside enjoying a warm spring day and as usual, three
year-old Mackenzie was bucking and galloping through the grass. At one point
she stopped and started pretending to munch on the grass. She was getting
pretty close to the ground so I warned her against actually taking a bite.
Mackenzie ‘argued’ that she was a real horse so she needed
to take a real bite—and with that, she did. She bit off a mouthful of grass and
for a split-second she started chewing. But her chewing was immediately
followed by a considerable amount of time spent spitting and sputtering,
coughing and wiping her mouth and tongue as fast as her little hands could
move.
And me? I have to
admit I laughed. Yes, I helped her get the grass out of her mouth and I got her
a drink of water to wash the taste away so she could go right back to being a
horse—a horse that now knew how not to
let her imagination go too far…and why. But
I laughed. What can I say? It was funny. Thinking back on that little event
now, however, reminds me of two things:
1: There are some things your kids are going to have to learn
for themselves. Some mistakes are going to have to be made in spite of your
direst warnings and advisements. And as parents we need to be ready to love our
kids in spite of their stubbornness and let them know that only when they learn
from their mistakes will they be able to move beyond their mistakes.
2: There are going to be times when your kids are going to
do exactly what you tell them not to
do. Once the deed is done, however, your children need to know you will be
there to give them that drink of water to get the taste out of their mouth. No,
not bail them out or protect them from the consequences of their actions, but
to let them know that you love them no matter what and won’t hold their actions
against them.
We’ve all eaten our fair share of grass, so to speak, so why
should you think your kids will be any different? They won’t be. I promise. But
how you handle the situation can make all the difference in the world to both
you and them.
Love,
Momma D
Copyright 2017 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
