Lessons I Learned From My 14yr Old
Recently I focused my #TR30Days challenge on time with my daughter. I called it my Mini-Me 30 Day Blessing. I wanted to spend some focused time on her. All too often I give what’s “left” of me (as I know many parents do). My daughter in particular is about to start her freshman year of high school and I know how important these next 4 years are going to be for her (and me).
What was so refreshing was that she was completely open to it. She enjoyed me spending the time with her and showing her about being a strong, beautiful woman. I think a lot of the success was due to the fact that I wasn’t “preaching” to her, I was showing her where to go for information, and telling her some of my “secrets”.
Throught the process, it was interesting for me to realize that I was learning along with her. I actually felt like doing something right as a parent with how we raised her, who we exposed her to, and what we taught her. These are the highlights of MY learnings from her.
Our kids are tougher than we think.
She had to experience what happens when a wild animal threatens the safety of the horses and riders. When she told me what happened, I started to get upset that she was put in that situation. But as she continued to tell me the story she said that she understood what had to be done. She didn’t enjoy it, had to step away to shed a few tears and collect herself, but knew it was the best thing for everyone involved.
Where did she learn this? Where did she learn to step away to collect herself so others wouldn’t get upset? AMAZING!
Our kids have some real world skills.
I had conversations with several adults that she interacted with this summer and the one thing that kept coming up was her “people skills”. I was told that she really knows and understands how to relate to all ages and how to influence and lead them.
“People Skills”? From a 14 year old??? WOW!
Our kids can have a positive attitude even through disappointments.
My daughter had a few disappointments this summer (broke my heart). Things she worked so hard for and wanted so badly just were not happening for her. While she did shed a few tears (with us) she also sought to understand. She asked questions about what she could do differently and committed herself 100%. This positive attitude and focused effort was recognized and in 2 of the situations she got the outcome she was hoping for.
Did she know that her attitude could change the outcome – doubtful? But that didn’t matter. She was not willing to dwell on her “bad luck” and just tried harder.
This truly was a 30 Day Blessing. I think I got so much more out of it than she did. It made me consider how I would respond in those same situations. I have to wonder if I would have done it as well as she did. It has now spurned some new ideas for my next time of Blessing with her (and with my boys). This is what quality time is all about. PRICELESS!
