What I Wish I'd Said

I just finished reading In His Footsteps: Be Happy In Every Situation, Find Your Purpose, and this passage really struck me.   I thought it would be especially appropriate to share part of it for this Mother's Day weekend.

What I Wish I'd Said

When my children were small and would lose their shoes, I wanted to teach them responsibility, so I said, "You lost them; you can find them.  When did you last have them on? Where were you?"

I wish I'd been more concerned with teaching kindness, rather than responsibility.  I wish I'd said, "Here.  Let me help you.  When did you last have them on?  Where were you?"

When my children were small and I was busy or tired, I would ignore them or even worse, berate them.  I would say, "Go away.  Stop saying 'Mom, mom, mom'.  Just stop whining."  I wish I'd said, "Come here.  Talk with me.  Let me hug you."

That's what I wish I'd said.

My kids are grown and mostly out on their own now, and there are plenty of things I wish I'd done differently or said differently.   I'm pretty sure most moms would say that. 

Being a mom is one of those jobs where you learn as you go, hopefully learning quickly.  It's one of the toughest but most rewarding jobs in the world.  Even if we don't do it perfectly - and nobody does - we can focus on doing the best we can and most of all loving those little people.  No matter how old they get to be.