Create Memories

Some of my favorite memories from my childhood were when we went to the lake, each night we'd spend time as a family playing Tripoli, a poker like game.

Before I left to take care of my mother for two weeks, I spent the previous 3-4 nights playing games with my children: sequence, junior sequence, risk, and dominoes. My intention was to leave them feeling that they were important to me and wouldn’t forget me so easily.

My son acquired a nerf gun during my absence and challenged me to a shoot out when I returned; I said yes thinking he would forget.

Two days before I returned I asked him if he missed me, without a beat he said “No.” I laughed, I was glad he felt comfortable telling me the truth.

The day after I returned, he reminded me that I had agreed to a nerf challenge (ugh!). I tried delaying by citing the need to wash the dishes and fold the laundry. He then wrangled his friend and his sister to help fold laundry so he could challenge me to a nerf shoot out.

At this point I realized he really wanted to challenge me and that I should be glad, since he’s twelve now and I’m not sure when he'll stop wanting to play games with me.

They were easy on me the first game, I won; I lost the next two.

Your children will always fondly remember playing games and spending time together versus you being unavailable because the dishes needed being done or the laundry or the vacuuming.

What do you do to create special time with your child(ren)?

Acknowledge What’s Not Working and Change the Future

Happy Valentine’s Day

Acknowledge What’s Not Working and Change the Future

Book: 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life
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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

I wish you and your family lots of hugs, kisses and love on this celebratory day.

Sorry I missed last week, I’ve been helping my mother recover after major surgery.

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ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT’S NOT WORKING AND CHANGE THE FUTURE

I’ve been helping my 6th grader since 3rd grade on his school speeches. This entails timing his practices, asking him questions to fill in the time, and giving him pointers (i.e. eye contact, breathe and more.)

And undoubtedly every time, sometime during the process, we ram our heads against each other: screaming at each other and/or tears and/or throwing our arms up. Sometimes this is the end of the session, sometimes due to time constraints, we have to go on.

This past fall he had a speech and he worked really hard and we rammed our heads quite a bit.

The day he gave his speech, he arrived home before I did. I called home to see how it went; it went well and he felt great about it. It told him that he worked really hard and deserved a great grade.

I also told him that I would really like for us to not ram our heads together less next time. He said “Me too.”

Since this speech he’s had two others, and each time our head ramming has occurred less and less.

What techniques have you used in diminishing ramming heads with your child(ren)?

I’d love to hear about it.

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101 GREAT WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE: Volume 3

My friend Nancy Heimstra, from Authentic Living Now, is a contributing author in the book above; a compilation of 101 articles with practical, solid advice on how you can finally take action and improve your life.

Go here to read more about it and the bonuses you receive upon purchase.
www.Parent.Family-Rx.com/Nancy_Heimstra.

Happy Reading!