The last 11 years with our kids have been laden with far more parenting frustration and strife than they had any right to have. There have been many times when I was not sure things could ever be any other way. Sure, we would have a glimpse of fun and joy but it these precious moments would never last longer than a couple of days at best and were few and far between. Over the last month this has changed. We have had an unprecedentedly good run. We have had fun with them on a regular basis for weeks. They have been able to go unsupervised for long periods of time without terrible outcomes. It seems that the correction we are applying is actually making a dent in undesirable behaviors. Best of all, they are contributing to the family because they choose to.
Last weekend they chose to unload the dishwasher TOGETHER. Then ... They decided to take all of the dishes from the sink and load the dishwasher TOGETHER. There was no fighting, no rough housing, no complaining. Instead, there was compromise, teamwork and support. Jim and I listened to this process from the other room with mouths open in awe of this thing we have been trying to achieve for the last 11 years in action right in front of us.
Does this mean our family will not go back to really tough times? No- parenting is no easy journey regardless of the hand you are dealt. What it does mean is that we have every reason in the world not to give up in what we want for our family- regardless of how long it might take us to see another glimpse this beautiful again.
