In honor of Mother’s Day, I would like to turn the tables and talk about a few things I learned from my kids. I think other Type “A” personalities will resonate with the lessons.
- Unconditional love. Yes, I loved before that little human separated from my own body and became her own person. But, always in some way the love was conditional. The fierce and immediate clarity that I would give my life in a second for my child is still there 28 years later-that love didn’t exist for me before that. And, that same love exists for my second child. When you see parents give up a kidney, pick up a car, make unbelievable sacrifices every day….well, you know what that is.
- Patience. Okay, I didn’t learn that much. I am still pretty impatient. However, when it is important, I can slow way down and match the style, the rhythm, the speed of someone else. I can take 30 minutes (not 5) to walk around the block with a child and see what they are seeing. Did I notice that rock before? Now, I can do that with people I coach. I put myself in their reality, at their pace and try to look through their eyes.
- Understanding how to teach and set expectations in an age appropriate way. One day I walked into the house and my 3 year old started screaming at me that she was starving and why wasn’t I feeding her. I went into my room and stormed in my head that I had been dealing with 3 year olds all day at my company and now I was home, faced with another 3 year old. I stopped short: she WAS three years old! She was not the problem, my management team was. The next day, I called a meeting and told my managers that they had to step up. I was not going to tolerate the way they were behaving with each other and me. I learned to clearly state my expectations at work based on job position or just what was required to be part of our organization-this I learned from my 3 year old.
Thank you to my girls for teaching me so much. It is an honor to be your Mother.