I Did It My Way

One challenging aspect of parenting is learning how to balance what small people want with what we want for them. And to decide which things are just our preference and which are really in their better interest. We’ve all felt justified in saying no way to candy for breakfast, but it’s different when we have to bite our lip over their life choices. I sat chatting with the computer tech while he told a story of just that. He had used martial arts to work through the grief of losing his wife and over time came to harbor a secret desire for his son--the only boy and dad’s namesake--to be the next Kung Fu sensation. But junior had other plans. He wanted to play the drums and he was really good at it. To his credit, dad encouraged the dream that replaced his dream and now son is in demand all over the world. I like that. Some of us take longer to figure it out. When Keilana turned three, I made grand plans for a Snow White party, including baking eight individual cakes--one each for the dwarfs and the princess--with rock candy “jewels” for the dwarfs to mine. It was very exciting. For me. When the party was over, Keilana asked if she could have a cake from the store next time like her friends had. Go figure. In Georgia Guback’s Luka’s Quilt, a grandmother and granddaughter don’t see eye-to-eye until they talk heart-to-heart. It works that way sometimes.

http://www.amazon.com/Lukas-Quilt-Georgia-Guback/dp/0688121543

http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/16768/Georgia_Guback/index.aspx