By Kate Barnes
‘To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world’ ~ Bill Wilson
A while ago I had a conversation with the kids while driving to school. I can’t remember the full context of it but we were running late and I had some work on I wanted to get to, when the kids grumpily said, ‘All you care about is your work!’ It was a comment that made me stop mid-flow. We pulled up at school and I looked at them and said, ‘My work is important to me but my most important job is being your mum and it’s a job I take very seriously.’ I can’t remember what else I said, however the look from my youngest is etched in my mind. It was a look of adoration with a loving smile on his face. Nothing else had to be said and the conversation stopped.
I’d never said anything like that to them before so how would they know how much I value being their mum?
We teach them how to read, write, use their manners, the value of money, of getting a job, etc. What about parenting and mothering?
It made me realise that one of the few ways our kids understand that being a parent, especially a primary caregiver, is an important role to have, is by telling them and showing them. We teach them how to read, write, use their manners, the value of money, of getting a job, etc. What about parenting and mothering?
One day it’s likely they’ll be parents and mothers. I’d like our kids to value their new role, to know the privilege and importance it bestows and that it’s something they can be very proud of and enjoy wholeheartedly.
