Parental Glue

As a self-recognized late bloomer, I am just now watching the Liam Neeson 2008 movie "Taken". In summary, it's about a dad who goes to every possible length to rescue his twitty 18 year old daughter who just went to Paris and naively got involved with sex slavery due to poor decisions. Punch, punch, gun shot yes! I would do anything to rescue my kids from danger and bring them home just like Liam. Passionate.

My very first experience in being a passionate parent was with with my baby girl. This story now not only makes me laugh at myself, everyone I tell it to laughs. But it serves a point that parents need to take a stance and act.

Just because I glued story book pages together if I didn't like where it was going, used liquid White-Out to erase words I thought my baby girl didn't need to learn and replaced them with less criminal words in matching font doesn't mean I am anal! I remember being mortified that my then two-year old could have a book where the word "stupid" was used and replaced it with "silly".

I literally read everything, saw everything and did everything before exposing my daughter to the subject. That way, I was able to provide commentary and ask questions, or in the case of my story book-itis, remove 'objectionable content.' I was like the mama bird who eats the food first and then feeds her babies.

You know what? As I grew in relationship with God and in parenting confidence, I loosened up with my anxiousness. All I was trying to do was celebrate my child and do the absolute best in providing her with the best foundation possible. It took a few years, but thanks to some gentle neighbors, I realized I had gone a tad overboard.

The cool family next door with three young sons were so calm and non-judgmental with all the things I had yet to learn. At that time we lived on a cul-de-sac with just seven homes. I was plotting out how many steps my girl could take in our yard while all the other kids romped up and down the street. The cool dad smiled at me and said, "She's just gonna be two houses away, it's okay." Reality hit!

Since then, I have relaxed so much that I only glue pages every other year. LOL. I'm actually so much more confident and relaxed that my daughter has been amazed at what I let slide with her little brother. We do not need to appear so uptight that our kids do not feel comfortable sharing. And, if we have been so uptight, it is hilarious to share and continue the conversation.

Our kids are growing, and we are, too. It's called a journey and a healthy balance. I love it all!