Monday 6 July 2009

Family

At best friend's party last night, we caught up with her brother and sis-in-law whom we've not seen for years . While the adults still looked pretty much the same, I was surprised at how much their little girl has grown.

Four years ago, I was holding their infant daughter in my arms. When I tried carrying her last night, she was all arms and legs. Oh, she's such a tall and lanky girl now!

Then and now.

Looking at how they interact with their kid, I realised they've become such 'accomplished' parents now compared to how anxious they were when they first became parents.

Parenting is indeed a lifetime learning experience. Even now, I sometimes doubt my parenting skills. As I watched best friend's loving family joking and laughing as we gathered around to watch their scuba-diving holiday video, I was awashed with envy.

Maybe my kids felt the same way too. Then I began to think that I'm often overwhelmed with work and chores, I have become too pragmatic and serious a mum. After my day is done, I hardly have time to chat or watch TV with them. I know they really appreciate it when I do it sometimes.

While driving home, I got into an argument with my son. Angry words were exchanged and then I realised the kids don't really care if I've done a million chores or kept the house spick and span. But they'll remember the hurtful things that I had said or promises broken. They also remember the good times spent together like family vacations or watching a movie together.

Looking at how much time my friend has spent in nurturing her kids makes me wish I had worked harder all these years. For me it's a struggle because our conditions are different but there is room for improvement.

5 comments:

WaterLearner said...

Don't be too quick to conclude that there is no room for improvement. Obama was brought up by his granny :-)

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

coming from a family where me mom is a Supermom, and i a kid, i agree. i dun care abt dusts or vacummed floors, i'd rather see her more relaxed being old now, and having slogged for the family for the last 30 years.

even her vacation with sis in Am wasn't in total "off" switch, she misses us so much, and tat adds to the guilt and maybe helplessness to me as a kid......

in short, i feel most kids want to see their folks happy + relax + be themselves + spend more time with them. though for this, i prefer to be alone most of the time.

but i'm weird anyway. LOL

Amel said...

Well, I've always thought that parenting is the hardest job on earth...so I salute all the parents in the world who try their best. :-))))

k@Ye_ said...

Ah fry is not weird but LOVES alot of personal space..

Hehe, i agree... Must spend more time with the children... My siblings & i are closer to my Mum than dad coz Mum is always there for us...

Jenny Eshjey said...

Hi,

Long time I did not drop by & I found your post very interesting. Talk about kids...as a parent we must spend a lot of time with them. Try to understand their problem & help them solve. I'm everyday spend my times with my kids & they always told me about their problems or what they doing in school. They will share with me about their love life too...haha.
Every week we all will go to shopping and gathering for lunch or dinner. They will appreciated what we done for them. I'm always share theirs good and the bad...

Don't worry...you still have time to communicate with your son & improvement!

Have A Nice Day!

by Jenny Malaysia.

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