Welcome Back!!
Hey MOPs Moms! If you are new, Welcome, we are excited for you to join us! If you are a returning Mom, Welcome Back! This year is all about "We are the Starry Eyed," and we on the steering team are all super excited to dive in at our first meeting, Tuesday August 23rd at 9:00am!
*If you are curious about the theme take a look at the previous blog post for more information*
To start off the year, we have one of our mentor moms on the blog today, Christie Dee. Christie is the mother of 4 children, all of whom she successfully kept alive to adulthood =) She has been in our shoes and is full of wisdom about our current stage of life!
Guest Speaker: Christie Dee
TRANSITIONS -TOUGH
and TENDER!
The word for the month of August is TRANSITION. If you are a mom, you are probably going
through a transition of one sort or another this month – a child starting
preschool, a new daycare or school situation, a child in the process of giving
up their pacifier or if you are like me, you are saying goodbye to a child who
has headed off to college (yep at 19 I still consider him a child). Everyone in
the Sisterhood of Moms knows that if our children are making a transition, then
we are too! Life is chalk full of these
transitions but that doesn’t make them any less challenging. Here are a few tips to hopefully help lessen
the pain of August Transitions:
*EXPECT IT TO BE ROUGH – If it’s not, then you will be
pleasantly surprised. As your child
transitions to a new situation, it’s almost guaranteed that they will be extra
tired and extra emotional. This will
require extra patience and extra hugs from you (even though you are probably
extra tired and extra emotional too). When my kids were young, I remember just
getting down on their level (ie playing on the floor with them or crawling into
bed with them) was a good strategy to provide comfort. Recently, my teenage daughter was super
emotional about the upcoming school year.
As I busily worked in the kitchen and offered advice and ways to change
her attitude, her emotions increased.
Then the Holy Spirit said, “Get down on her level.” So I stopped my tasks, sat down next to her,
put my arm around her, told her how hard some of my high school years were and
cried along with her. Her emotions
subsided and she felt heard and understood by me. Oftentimes, kids will seem fine in their new
situation only to fall apart at home. Be
a place of comfort and relief!
*RESIST MAKING ANY KNEE-JERK REACTIONS – When kids are having
difficulties with change, our instinct is to want to fix the problem or make a
change. For example, if your child
doesn’t initially like his or her new teacher, your instinct might be to request
a change. God may have something great
to teach you or your child if you are patient and walk through this challenge
with your child. When one of my
daughters was starting a new school in 4th grade, she was assigned
to a sarcastic, no nonsense teacher. All
of her previous teachers had been motherly and caring. Everything in me wanted to request a new
teacher, but instead we decided to pray for the teacher and try to make the
best of it. While it was tough on both
me and my daughter, we stuck it out and learned to appreciate her by the end of
the year. God knew my daughter needed a
thicker skin and this teacher was the path to get there. To
remove all the rough spots in our kids’ road should not be our goal as
moms. To walk with them through the
bumps is.
*PRACTICE SELF CARE - for yourself and for your child. A cup of tea with a friend, a hot bath in the
Jacuzzi tub, an extra chocolate chip cookie, an extra book at bedtime, or extra
early bedtime – whatever it takes to make you or your child feel ready to
conquer the challenge is acceptable during the transition phase.
*POINT YOUR KIDS TO GOD - As moms we like to think we can be
right beside our kiddos every minute of the day but in reality, God is the only
one that can. From an early age, we can
start pointing them to their life-long best friend. Remind that when they are away from us, God
is right beside them. He will never
leave them or forsake them! As I helped
my 19 year old son get settled into his dorm a few days ago, it was such a
blessing to see that his Bible and devotionals were front and center on his
dorm desk. He is fine without me there (for
the most part); God is with him!
There
are many times throughout our children’s lives where we have to let go and
trust the plan of the Father. The world
is a tough place sometimes and as moms we have many fears and worries. But we must remember that we have to let go
so that God can accomplish His purposes in and through our kids. Remember they are really His kids. He has given
them to us as a gift!
Despite God’s presence with them, truth is, your kiddos will
always need a mom to turn to no matter what age or stage they are in. This is evidenced by the 1.5 hour drive I
made this week to my son’s college (he had only been there two days) to rescue
that 19 year old child who had “lost” the keys to his truck. Since it was his birthday, I just smiled and
gave him a birthday hug when he greeted me with, “I found my keys!”
The essence of motherhood really is walking beside your kids
as they face one transition after another.
Enjoy the journey!
Thank you Christie! We look forward to more of your wisdom as the year goes on!
Upcoming events:
First MOPs meeting of the year- August 23rd, 9:00am @ Calvary Bible Church in Erie
Park and Popsicle Playdate- August 30th, 10am @ Lehigh Park
After MOPs lunch- September 13th (following the meeting) *bring lunch and kiddos*
Welcome BBQ- September 17th, 4-7pm @ Lehigh Park
