All my life, I’ve prided myself on being “open-minded.” On believing that there is very little “black and white,” and a lot of “gray.” But ever since I’ve been an adult, it seems that with every year that passes, I see more gray. This has been especially true these last two years with our kids and these last few months with our therapist, RB.
Although I might say that there are many different types of people, many different types of parenting styles, many different types of preferences, I’ve found that I really believe my methods are a little better than everyone else’s. I’ve taken the parenting classes, read the parenting books, so naturally I’ve figured out the one correct way to parent. And being the wise old age of 31, naturally, I’ve been around long enough to figure out the correct way to live.
Admittedly, I haven’t had a very traumatic life, so this may seem trite – but some of my most traumatic moments have happened when I had to face reality and realize that the world I built for myself isn’t the ultimate truth, but just one of many truths that may need to be adjusted over time. I know many parents say that they’ve learned more from their kids than their kids have learned from them, and I’m just now starting to see how true that is. Needless to say, I’m a little nervous about the next 12 years!
Shannon Mackie 