"Because I Said So!"

We’re all great parents before having children.  At the grocery store or park, we know just what every other parent should do with every other child.  Then life changes.  I vowed I’d never mix up my children’s names, but I do all the time.  I would never yell, or say things like “Because I said so!”, “Get off your brother”, or “Who brought THAT into my kitchen?!”.  Then God laughed, and gave me three sons.  And now I laugh, all the time.  And cry, often but quietly.  Sometimes both at the same time.  I’m a Mom, that’s what we do.

     Keep these thoughts in your heart for when you need some “Peace of Mind”, (just like my business name).  Why?  Because I said so.

1. A grateful heart is the surest way to happiness.  People with truly grateful hearts are less prone to anxiety and depression. Let others know how thankful you are to and for them.  
2. I am a conflicted parent.  Having been a crabby teenager once does not prepare me to parent one today.  I want from my children, simultaneously, understanding when I don’t know everything and their faith and confidence in me to know everything.  I know a secret, though, that contributes to my Peace Of Mind.  And mine may be different from yours.  My secret is to say a short prayer for patience and guidance, then remind myself of my job as a parent:  raising future adults, and helping my children get to heaven.  Those ideas guide all other decisions I make.  What’s your secret?  Write it down, refer to it often!
3. Parenting involves our hands, heads and hearts, and the mix of the three varies with our children’s ages, stages and moment to moment in our day.  The older my children get, the more I use heart and head to guide us.  Children don’t come to us fully formed, which is a very good thing, since we aren’t fully formed, either.  We get to evolve and figure things out together.  
4. You are more capable than you know, and so are your children.
5. Speaking to a friend recently at her mother’s funeral, the friend stated she had no regrets when it came to her relationship with her mom and her mom’s passing.  What a gift.  I’ve been looking anew at my relationships, trying to do the right thing always, and working towards “No Regrets”, too.
6. My Mother’s Day gifts come every day, in little packages.  My oldest son volunteering to serve at Mass without being asked.  My middle son and I sharing a look and cracking each other up without saying a word.  My youngest son bent over a mud puddle, saving ants by giving them little sticks to walk on out of the mud.  These gifts aren’t gift-wrapped, but they are the best a parent can ask for.

I hope you apply one of these ideas to your own life, the next time you’re searching for some Peace of Mind.