To know both sides

I vividly remember as a child promising myself that when I grew up and became a mother I would remember what it was like to be a kid. I promised myself I'd recall all of the anguish and frustration that goes along with not being in control of life. I swore that I'd never forget how it feels to want something so badly and be told no.

Now as a parent, I have found myself having disagreements with my children that I'm sure I had with my parents when I was small. And my daughter never misses an opportunity to tell me all the ways that she will be a better parent than I am. She tells me all the things that she won't do to her children, like make them clean their messes. She'll let them stay up as late as they want and eat candy whenever they please. She tells me that I don't know what it's like to be a kid.

On the contrary, I do remember. And as I said, I recall all of the promises I made to myself as a result of all those frustrations. What I also realized though is that at that age, I was missing a piece of the equation. I knew what it was like to be a kid, but I didn't know what it was like to be a parent.

So in spite of the fact that I understand most of my children's motivation for their behavior, I continue to interact with them similarly to how my parents interacted with me. Discipline, boundaries, rules, are all still in place. I take comfort in the knowledge that in all likelihood, one day my daughter will have the other piece of the puzzle. Someday she will have a similar conversation with her kids, only from the other side.

The cycle is fascinating. The revelations are inspiring. And these simple discoveries, the little things in life that make you say, "oh, I get it," are what I intend to discuss in this blog. I hope to entertain a few readers. Please leave a comment to say hi if you like what you read.