Mothers who know are
always
teachers.
Since they are not babysitters,
they are never off duty.
always
teachers.
Since they are not babysitters,
they are never off duty.
Remember the good ol' days of babysitting? Sacrificing a few hours of my weekend to play with kids and get paid for it. What a great job. Granted, it was only $1.50 an hour with housekeeping included, but it was something. And I could tell the parents that everything went fine even though the kids ran around like animals, the house plants all spilled, they didn't eat their dinner, I let them stay up way past their bedtime, and eat popcorn and ice cream to boot. And then I was off the clock and could go home and cuddle up in my bed and have a restful evening.
Now I'm always on duty. On call each and every one of the 525,600 minutes in the year. And as Sis. Beck says, this means that I am constantly available as a teacher to my children.
Lately my teaching seems sporadic. What my days mostly comprise of is maybe teaching, or showing, or demonstrating something once and then spending the rest of the day as a cheerleader. My kids are becoming more independent and want to do things themselves. This means that my current job is to offer constant encouragement. "Keep trying Evan" or "Good job Zion" roll off my lips consistently.
Everyone deserves a cheerleader. I didn't realize how rewarding it is to have someone cheering you on until one day when we were in the car and I changed lanes. Suddenly I hear from the back seat, "Nice driving Mama." "Thanks Evan," with a HUGE smile on my face. Since then, I've gotten lots of "Keep trying Mama"s, "Yea Mama!"s, and "Good Job Mama"s.
Now I'm always on duty. On call each and every one of the 525,600 minutes in the year. And as Sis. Beck says, this means that I am constantly available as a teacher to my children.
Lately my teaching seems sporadic. What my days mostly comprise of is maybe teaching, or showing, or demonstrating something once and then spending the rest of the day as a cheerleader. My kids are becoming more independent and want to do things themselves. This means that my current job is to offer constant encouragement. "Keep trying Evan" or "Good job Zion" roll off my lips consistently.
Everyone deserves a cheerleader. I didn't realize how rewarding it is to have someone cheering you on until one day when we were in the car and I changed lanes. Suddenly I hear from the back seat, "Nice driving Mama." "Thanks Evan," with a HUGE smile on my face. Since then, I've gotten lots of "Keep trying Mama"s, "Yea Mama!"s, and "Good Job Mama"s.
I may not get my $1.50 an hour any more.
But I get a cheerleader.
And I taught him that.
But I get a cheerleader.
And I taught him that.
favorite part of this paragraph from Sis. Beck that I didn't address but wanted to share:
"Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre–missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation. That is influence; that is power."
2 comments:
I love your cheerleader comments. (As a side note, I wish babysitting was still $1.50 an hour. We pay $10.00 here!)
Thanks for your post. I love this one! How cute... And, yes you taught him that. So, someday when you are struggling or it's just one of "those" days REMEMBER that all the good things your children do and all the goodness they have comes from you.
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