Authentically You Magazine A Mother's Joy May 2017 | Page 39

Mother's Love  By: Eraina Tinnin I’ve been a mother for 22 years now. And looking back the time has really flown by. I got married and started my family young. When most people are excited about being an adult and getting use to the idea of living on their own, sowing while oats and “adulting”, I actually had a family; husband and two kids by the age of 24. There wasn’t an instruction manual, well there were parenting books but nothing really prepared me for motherhood. It was more on the job training; the late nights, early mornings, sick days, potty training, teaching to walk, read and talk all for free. Although no pay was involved motherhood has been the most rewarding job I’ve had. The years fly by and currently my husband and I empty nesters. I look back and wonder where has the time gone? I was a very involved parent as I tutored at their school once a week, had lunch with them, went on field trips and even left notes in their lunch box. It may seem small to some but as adults these are some of my children’s fondest memories. As much as I love parenting there was no compensation, no sick days, no vacation days and if I was sick the show still had to go on. It was undoubtedly the most rewarding job I’ve had. Since my husband and I are empty nesters and have survived the baby/toddler years, school aged years and teenaged years, I want to share with you a few lessons learned. 1. ENJOY THE TIME: As much as your children may work your nerve (And you know this is true) enjoy the time you have with them. It goes entirely too fast. Those days you just want to lay around but your kids want to go somewhere, or have you drop them off, volunteer at their school, go on a field trip or eat lunch with them DO IT. WHY? Because you can’t get the time back. You are creating memories that will last a lifetime. Before you know it they will be out of the house and on their own. Authentically You Magazine 2. BE OPEN AND HONEST: When your children ask you questions be HONEST in your answer, don’t sugar coat it. And don’t act surprised when they ask something you think is off the wall. If they can’t get a straight honest answer from YOU where can they get it? 3. ALLOW THEM TO BE WHO THEY ARE: If your children like to draw, dance, participate in sports, read, write let them do it. Don’t try to change them or get them to like activities just because you do. Support and encourage them to utilize the gifts God gave them. 4. LET THEM EXPRESS THEMSELVES: I don’t mean allowing them to be disrespectful. Children have feelings, they have thoughts, they hurt and they love just like we do. Often times parents tend to disregard their children and not allow them to share their thoughts, and ideas. By doing this you are teaching them that what they think doesn’t matter. We should always encourage our children doesn’t matter. We should always encourage our children to voice their opinion and express themselves. The time we have with our children is short. It doesn’t feel that way at the time. But as an empty nester I would give anything to spend more time with my children. Looking back the time FLEW by. Now, my daughter lives on her on and my son does too. My son opted to move to another time zone. I can only hope that the values and morals I have instilled in them have shaped them to be productive, caring and genuine members of society. I am thankful for the memories we created when they were children and am looking forward to the memories we create in this new space we are in. Eraina Tinnin can be reached via her website www.erainatinninonline.com email: [email protected] and phone [phone] #AMothersJoy