No matter how many children you have, what ages they are,
where you live, what they like to play with, or even whether they are boys or
girls, you are undoubtedly familiar with some girls who are sweet, kind, cute
as can be, and who like to sing their hearts out…and do it quite well.
You know who I’m talking about—girls collectively referred
to as “Disney princesses”. There are several and each has their own distinct quality
that makes them so endearing. But when it comes to being realistic and true to
life in her personality and her relationship with her mom, no one fits the bill
quite like Merida from the movie, “Brave”.
Merida is confident, intelligent, loving, kind, and has a
mind of her own that doesn’t always agree with her parents—particularly her
mother. Sound familiar?
Merida isn’t about to give up who she is and what she loves
to conform to the mold her mom expects her to fit into. No way! And to make
sure that doesn’t happen, Merida tries to cast a spell on her mom but in the
process ends up turning her into a bear. A bossy, grouchy, demanding bear that
refuses to back down from anything…until her ‘bear-ness’ almost costs Merida
her life.
From that point on, mother and daughter work together with
respect and appreciation for each other’s abilities and personalities. In doing
so they break the spell so that Queen Elinor (Merida’s mom) is no longer a
bear. She is herself again, but less demanding and more approachable. And yes,
they all live happily ever after.
As a mom I know there have been times when my kids have
looked at me and seen a bear—a grouchy, bossy, demanding bear. My intentions
may have been good, but I was still a bear. Or maybe my ‘bear-ness’ was the
result of my being in a bad mood, not feeling well, or because of something my
kids had done to make me irritable or angry. But I was still a bear. And when I
was a bear, I wasn’t doing anyone any good. I was only making things worse.
It was only when I took a deep breath and put things into
their proper perspective, OR realized my ‘bear-ness’ wasn’t something they
should have to deal with, OR swallowed my pride and admitted I was wrong and
they were right, that my kids saw the real me again. And when that happened,
life was better and everyone was much happier.
As a parent there are going to be times when you turn into a
bear. We’re not perfect and it happens. But those times need to be few and far
between. And those times certainly shouldn’t be because we are trying to make
our children fit into molds they don’t belong in. Instead, we need to be
parents who work with your children’s strengths and passions rather than
against them; allowing and encouraging them to become the unique individual
they are meant to be. For when that happens, so does happiness.
Love,
Momma D
Copyright 2017 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
