3 Phrases I Want My Son To Remember

Happy Hump Day! I hope you are having a wonderful week!

photo 3-2

Most of the time on this little blog of mine {hey that rhymes…I have been reading too many children’s books :)} you are going to find DIY projects, home decor ideas and fun crafts. But, every now and then I want to write about what has been on my heart.

This year my son started kindergarten and so far it has been a wild ride! There have been lots of ups and downs trying to understand new emotions (mostly him but me too). Learning how to become a friend to so many new kiddos and figuring out how to work with teachers, assistants and new school systems.

My head is continually spinning over how fast time is moving and how much he is changing. Everything is changing. His personality is growing, even his facial expressions. It pains my heart to the core sometimes but the rest of the time it is usually pretty hysterical. I love to see him growing and learning and I want to capture every moment.

Before I became a mommy I thought I knew exactly how I would parent my child(ren) but those ideals seem to have flown out the window. Not that I don’t have a good foundation, I do, but I didn’t realize that little man would be constantly changing and I would constantly have to adjust.

I was blessed growing up have the most amazing parents a girl could ever ask for. Yes, mom and dad, I’m talking about you! I have been thinking a lot about what I remember of my childhood and what lessons I learned from them in attempt to draw some forgotten wisdom to use during this ever-changing post toddlerhood. And by the way if you haven’t noticed by now I love to make up words. Toddlerhood???

I keep remembering several phrases that have stuck in my head over the years that they would repeat to me over and over. It is funny the things you remember but these phrases have really made an impression on my life.

The first phrase I remember my dad always saying that almost annoyed me at times was, “Don’t force it, Summer”. Now I know that sounds like a weird thing to remember but it is truly etched in mind. Whenever I was trying to do something or fix something that was frustrating me I knew what was coming. Most of the time they were gentle words but sometimes they were stern, probably when he knew that I was on the verge of wrecking something. But now that we are all grown up we know that our parents are always right, right?

As a grown woman and a mother, his words now give me comfort. In his own way, probably without knowing it, he was teaching me patience and tolerance. Two qualities that I see in myself that I attribute to my dad. Sometimes I struggle with patience but I am thankful it is not one of my major flaws. I DO have some major flaws though but we won’t talk about those…not today anyway :)

And who knew how much these words would come in handy when you are DIY’ing projects all the time! And now I find myself repeating the same words to my son.

The second phrase I remember my mom saying so often is, “We’ll just play it by ear.” Another unusual thing to remember but I love these words. I am a pretty laid back person, almost too laid back at times, and this phrase sums it up. Strict schedules can be hard for me, I tend to be late from time to time, etc :) I am my mother’s daughter. If you know my mom, you know that she is the sweetest, kindest, most gentle person on the planet and so easy going. She may not feel this way about herself but this is what I see and love.

So, this brings me to thinking about what phrases I want my son to remember. What words will he hear me say in his head when he is raising his own children? I know these will probably change as time goes on but these are the words I find myself saying to him on a daily basis and I do hope they stick around the way my parents words have stuck with me.

1. Let’s Pray. I find myself saying this all the time. At meal times of course but also during our daily prayer in the morning on the way to school, when we are having a rough day, when we see a big wreck on the interstate.

Let’s get real for a second. This whole parenting thing is hard, and if anyone tells you different THEY ARE LYING! Don’t get me wrong it brings miraculous amounts of joy but not without work. I am a single, working mom and I pray A LOT. I pray because sometimes I am just so tired that I don’t know what else to do. But also because I know that I can’t do this alone, without Him, and I want my son to grow up with that same peace.

2. Don’t Do It Halfway. When I say this my son knows that he is doing a halfway job at something or he has gotten frustrated and given up. We don’t do things halfway in our house, period. We give, or at least try to give, 100% at everything we do. All I have to do is start this sentence and I get the eye roll, and then a second later a sly little grin because he knows exactly what I am going to say. This phrase is not very touchy feely and may seem a little harsh but I want my son to be a hard worker, not a quitter.

3. We Work Together So We Can Play Together. Let me set the stage for this one. My 5-year-old has chores and earns an allowance. I hope to write a post about what we do in the coming weeks but his job is to unload the dishwasher. Sometimes he doesn’t like it but usually after a couple minutes he is on his stool in the kitchen dancing and singing at the top of his lungs.

Today was a perfect example of this phrase in action. I had planned to take little man to the park after school with his buddy as a surprise. In the car on the way home he asked if he had to unload the dishwasher today and I said yes. Of course the moaning and whining and the asking to switch chores to cleaning the bathroom instead started (yes, that is true, he would rather clean the potty ~ I think this must be a boy thing to get SO excited about pottys). But, the dishwasher is what helps us the most and is the most age appropriate so we have kept this his chore for now.

I asked him not to complain and explained why his job is important but no luck, it continued. Finally I calmly told him that we were not going to be able to go to the park because I wouldn’t have enough time to get all the work done by myself. Of course then he said he would help me load, unload and about five other things. But the lesson here is that as a family we all have our roles and we all have to pitch in. We work together so we can play together.

I know this post was wordy and most of you have probably fallen asleep already but I just wanted to share this in the hopes that some of you share these same feelings.

What phrases or lessons did you learn from your parents that you didn’t realize you were learning at the time? What words do you want your children to remember you repeating when they are all grown up?

And here are a couple pictures of the tiny human that stole my heart 4 years ago!

Me & Liam at Red Square

IMG_6007 {LacyKell Photography}

Unsaved Preview Document

Have a great night!

siggy

Similar Posts

8 Comments

  1. Sweet People!!! Y’all are so cute. Great post, Summer! I need to start having my boys help more around the house… They just don’t do it right! ;-)

  2. He is so adorable! And you have some really good points. My kids have a really hard time to accept that we have all have a role and we all have to pitch in like you said. And so does my hubby! I feel like most of the time everyone expects me to do it all and then they complain because I don’t have time for them ;)
    Great post!

  3. So sweet!! Tears are in my eyes!! Just to add to this…for those of you who know my daughter, you know that she is a kind, loving, caring, genuine, person and mom. She is beautiful on the outside, but more importantly on the inside. Liam hit the jackpot when he got Summer for a mom! And what a blessing he has been in my life!! Love you, sweet daughter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.