I Used to Think

I used to think that people who worked on their yards a lot needed to get a life.

Now I know that when you own a place, you want to make it your own. You want your yard to be beautiful and functional because you spend a lot of time there. When it's yours, you take pride in it.


I used to think that mothers who complained about doing the laundry every day exaggerated.

Now I know it's what comes with the territory when you have a family of four, and all the clothes, towels, wash cloths, sheets and blankets associated with those four people.


I used to think that if you were a stay at home mom, your home should be spotless.

Now I know that a stay at home mom's most important role is taking care of, teaching, nurturing and playing with her children. Because she's doing that, she's not scrubbing every corner of every floor. She wants her kids to remember a mom who played with them, not a mom who was obsessed with cleaning the house top to bottom every day.


I used to think I knew exactly what I would do when I became a parent- what I would teach them, how I would raise them, how I would discipline them, etc.

Now I know that not a person on this earth knows how they'll parent until they're a parent themselves. For one thing, each and every child is different. What works with one of your kids may not work with the other. If you don't allow for flexibility in your parenting methods, you will drive yourself crazy. Learn who your child is and what he or she needs- your instinct will take over from there.