TRACKING IN A NEW DIRECTION

Written by Sheree Hoddinett

A new year is underway, hopefully a better one at that. Saying goodbye to 2020 wasn’t hard but saying hello to 2021 comes with a few mixed emotions. My baby (yeah I know she’s 5, so she’s not really a “baby” anymore) is one of the big kids and is off to school. Yay! I think. I’ll be the first to admit my girls can drive me crazy at the best of times, but I do miss them when they aren’t around. And this year with them both at school, it’s going to be pretty quiet during the day. I know chaos will ensue at the end of each school day instead as they talk over the top of each other to tell me all the important details of their day. Of course, each of them will see their story as more important than the other!

Hopefully I can pull off a different style of mothering this year. Haha, I just read that sentence back to myself. It’ll work for 5 minutes, until my girls drive me crazy again. I’ll still swear at them. I’ll probably still tell them to go away. Yeah I know it’s mean. But in my defence they like to tell me they hate me or I’m the worst mum when I won’t let them eat chocolate for breakfast so I figure it’s only fair, right?! And I’ll likely still threaten to send them packing to live with another family. Still pretty mean but sometimes it’s called for. I’m not the best mum nor do I think I will ever turn into one. But I certainly try my best. Whether it’s in actually doing the right thing remains to be seen.

Just remember, parenting is a wild ride and not always fun. You don’t have to be liked. It’s horrible when they tell you they don’t like you, especially when they’re only little, but they will come back when they want something! There is never a right or wrong answer. Yes we may feel like we do the wrong thing, every single time! But that’s life! Some days are harder than others. Sometimes, I even find the days without my girls around to be incredibly difficult. Yeah I know, I’m weird. I think it’s because strangely enough they do sometimes have a way of grounding me and bringing me back to reality. It could have something to do with their fighting, whinging and whinging too, come to think of it. It could also be because kids have a way of knowing when you need them the most. It’s an in-built intuition. One minute they know how to really tick you off and the next they know how to help. Kids hey?!

They say the trick is to never give in to them. Are you serious? Who’s they? And did they ever win by not giving in to their kids? I give in a fair bit, both for my own sanity and to get some peace. It may not always be the best result but it’s just the way to go. I even tell my girls how spoilt and lucky they are. Not quite sure they know what it means yet but I’ll tell them anyway. They don’t have to like it or anything I say or do, but I’m going to do it anyway. Look you just do what feels right at the time and have regrets later if need be. I quite often do (face palm). But in saying all that, I think my girls are going to be okay. Well I hope so. I can’t make any guarantees. 

So let’s see what you have in store for us 2021. Hopefully no repeat of last year’s “fun” times. Whatever this year throws at you, you can handle it, especially if you have kids to deal with. If times get tough resort to my favourite “helpers” – chocolate and some sort of alcoholic beverage. Just looking at them will instantly make you feel better. Eating and drinking them will probably make you feel like a supermum!! I’ll let you know how my “baby” goes with school, I’m sure there will be a story or two in it! 

Check out more of my “fine” parenting skills and fun at www.shereekim.com. Until next time….