Once upon a time you may have believed that you and your spouse’s relationship was the greatest love story of all time.
I’m willing to bet that was all before you had any children. I’m not saying that the love between spouses or significant others doesn’t matter in comparison to the passion you feel as a parent, however it’s incomparable and far more intense when it is for your child.
Speaking of parent and child relationships, did you know that today is Bring your Daughter to Work Day? It’s also the Month of the Military Child and in order to honor both or those occasions I created a list of all the reasons children are amazing and do wonderful things for us as parents every day.
1. We Experience Unconditional Love
They challenge us and make us smarter for it. I’m sure you remember telling yourself that long division was something you could never forget, or how to solve an equation (PEMDAS anyone?). Little did we know we’d be in our 20’s and 30’s having to quickly teach ourselves how to not only figure out long division the old fashion way, but now relearn it with these new methods with a youtube video in the pantry before your kid can find you and realize you’re less knowledgeable than you lead on to be…
2. They Remind Us How Great The World Truly Is
While you’re stressed out typing away a report for work or frustrated because the dryer is stuffed with lint your little girl is curious about all the “Why’s”…I don’t know about you, but if your child hasn’t made you contemplate the universe itself from all her questions then you have to think harder about what she’s really asking.
“Why is mommy moving really fast and yelling at the machine?”
Seriously, why IS mommy so mad and angry at the dryer? Deep down we know that isn’t going to do anything to benefit ourselves, so why do we continue to feel such a negative fueling emotion? Not to mention–have you ever just tried to see things from a babies perspective before? No, really. I mean getting onto all fours or laying on your back to try and pin point what the heck your baby is giggling at when all you see is the fan on your ceiling. A baby sees a dangling object floating above in the air above her. However, as an adult we have the opportunity to appreciate the finer things behind how it’s even possible for that fan to exist. The blades are held by a metal paddle which is connected to the outer shell of the motor, which screws hold in place. (Screws alone are fascinating. Who the heck was genius enough to create a screw?! Those things hold our world together!)
There’s so much life appreciation and gratitude we can learn from these pure minds.
3. Raising Girls Make You Rethink Societal Standards.
As a mother who tries her best to exhume self love, raising a girl in a world of young make up artists and never ending options to enhance natural beauty is not easy. Just like there’s a fine line between teaching your girl to stand up to bullies with force versus knowing when exactly to stand down and tell an adult.
As parents we’re taught to lead by example, but who are WE supposed to look up to? Society doesn’t do a very good job of cheering on the realism of the world, so it’s up to us to decide what the “norm” is.
I’ve learned that for everything you wish to teach your daughter you must implement into your own routine.
The best part about young girls (and children in general at young ages) is their innocence to societal rules and norms. When they see their mothers get dressed in the morning they see beauty no matter what they wear. Same goes for the makeup they choose to put on and all other decisions.
We know kids question many things. The rules parents implement is certainly a big one to question. As parents we spend a lot of time trying to protect our children at the same as raising them to be strong individuals, but our biggest flaw is neglecting to parent and be kind to ourselves. The confidence we pass onto our children is hardly ever implemented within ourselves. We live in a world where its unbelievably easy to pretend or recreate who we are as people, including looks and in order for our impressionable girls to believe what we want them to we need to believe it for ourselves. We are our worst critics and our children are our biggest confidence boosters.
4. Girls Radiate Energy and Exhume Happiness.
Even under the toughest of circumstances and stressful of times I can always look over at my daughter to find a smile pasted across her face. They have the lightest of hearts and know no evil. It is the most contagious feeling in the world to watch your children run and play for hours without a lapse in happiness, not to mention seeing them get right back up after falling down.
So on this day of stress remember that you have a little one staring up at you like you’re the tallest and most magnificent creature they’ve ever seen. They admire the way you pour water into a glass and as a matter of fact they admire how quick you are to catching the glass when they “accidentally” tipped it over.
Rather instead of buckling at the craziness of bringing your sweet daughter to work today, take the day to live by her rules.
Slow down and look at the world in pure amazement. We only get this day once, so if you can, dedicate your world to her a little extra today.
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#BreastfeedingWorld
Katherine Hovey is a young first time mom, stationed on Guam, living life over 7,900 air miles away from her home and everyone she knows as she navigates her place in life as a mother. Currently she is studying to become a Certified Medical Assistance and spends her free time volunteering as a writer for Soldier’s Angels and a part time freelance photographer. Katherine’s motivation is the compassion she has for others. Ultimately she wishes to reach out and impact every life she can touch. Whether that’s getting the chance to help out a family in need, finding a home for an abandoned dog or getting the opportunity to hear someone’s story. She is an avid people person yearning to make a change and leave her mark on this world while never ceasing to observe the world’s lost beauty. If you’d like to learn more about Katherine you can find her on YouTube and Instagram at Hoveylife.
