Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A Moment of Clarity


    

     Ignoring the stares of those in the waiting room, I pulled both my kids off the top of the kiddie table, firmly setting them on either side of me in chairs. We were at the doctor's office for their much needed check-up's, since it had been over a year. Normally if they were sick or needed a doctor's eye, we would take them to First Care, where we were in and out in 20 minutes.
     Much to my reluctance, we went to see a new family doctor. Upon his entrance into the examination room, like clockwork, my kids began testing boundaries. As I tried to answer questions for the doctor, I became a jungle gym for Tori, and kept interrupting the doctor every two minutes to talk Elijah through making better choices or to change his behavior.
      Low and behold, the doctor shocked me, "Looks like you've got your hands full with these two; they're pretty strong-willed." He wasn't irritated with their behavior, shocked at their outbursts, or surprised by the stand-offs in that little room; which of course included the stand off to get Tori to open her mouth so he could check her teeth and throat. (She clamped down her jaw and glared at the doctor, he then pushed the stick onto her teeth and pinched her nose, causing Tori to gasp for air.)
    Instead of being irritated with her, he chuckled and gave me a moment of clarity, it actually felt good to hear a professional state the obvious. "In any case, I would wait to potty train Tori for another three to six months; good luck with their spirits and I'll see you in six months," he said, as he tried to shake my hand while I was keeping a potential war breaking out between the two kids.
     Every mom needs reassurance sometimes to know that she is not imagining what she is dealing with. A moment of clarity like this resonates in our hearts. It encourages us that we are on the right track, even if it's a difficult one. Sometimes it's difficult to be raising a child who has challenges, or challenges you, or is not so compliant, we forget that we are not to compare ourselves to others. God knew exactly what He was doing when He made you the mother of that child!

3 comments:

  1. I agree. Each parent is uniquely suited to raise the children the Lod has given them! (sometimes we wonder if God thinks we are stronger than we think we are! LOL)
    If you have any ideas you'd like to see in a parenting book about younger kids (2-9)Let me know. Thanks!I love your blog!

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  2. Lori, yes of course, I'd love to see a section about embracing the kids God gave you, personality, temperament, and all. My younger two are strong willed and it's SO hard to not compare to parents whose children are compliment. Thx for the comments and be sure to share my posts as I share yours!

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  3. Good story. It is a parents' job to train and discipline their children. It is a child's job to test the bounds of the discipline on every turn! It doesn't mean they are bad, it just means they are kids. We had many such episodes with our 3 in doctor's offices, grocery stores, everywhere. The doc understood that.

    Linked from fb. You have a great blog.

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