Hug Long

This is my stab at a ‘parenting’ page.
Pfft! I know enough about parenting to know I only know a little! I know that children do not come with a manual and there is no license required. Here are some experiences I’ve had that might be helpful to you. Perhaps. Maybe…maybe not?

Know it all.
I used to give people advice about parenting (and everything else, sometimes before I even had kids . . . cringe). I have found myself staring into the face of many of those same situations, making choices I never thought I would have to make, and regretting that I had ever judged anyone, ever, for anything, ever. My suggestion? Try to avoid this.

You’ll rot your teeth.
I didn’t take my kids to the dentist enough and I was lax in teaching them to brush. We all paid the piper, and the bill, at their first visit in years. Years. My suggestion? Try to avoid this.

Nit Pickin’s.
The first few times my kids got lice, I panicked! Oh no, what will people think? How will I get rid of it? This is terrible… Then I read a website where a woman had written something like, ”this is devastating and horrifying.”  Yeah, it’s gross, but, devastating?  I chose right then and there to get over it and get to work. I have some ideas to share about lice infestation in a short PDF (To be Posted) “Tips and Tricks for Responding to a Lice Infestation,” but we still get lice from time to time so take them as you will. I know these tips have helped me stay a little more sane whenever I find a bug crawling on one of my kids, but panicking is overrated. My suggestion? Try to avoid this.

Quit Squirmin’!
The time my kids got pin worms was wrong on so many levels. I called the doc in the middle of the night, demanding a prescription for every member of my family. She was having a bad day: I think (truly) her home had just been robbed. They had just gotten home and discovered the chaos. She had a new baby in the house.  I didn’t care. I forced her hand. I’ve heard you can’t avoid pin worms if you let your kids play with other kids, but as far as bullying the doctor in the middle of the night, I do, indeed, have a suggestion: Try to avoid this.

Cease fire.
I hate that I do this, but I bicker with my husband in front of the kids. The kids not-so-secretly feel bad for him. My suggestion? Try to avoid this.

Mom…
I am the parent on the sidelines of the soccer field yelling, “C’mon ref! Jerk!”. Just kidding, I’m not like that. Besides, there are no refs in the Under 7 League. I AM the mom sitting watching the game, cheering for all the kids by name, and wanting to leap out of my seat and go over and kick the ball for them. I do, occasionally yell, “Get him! Take the ball! Drill it!” We all pretend we don’t keep score but the kids do. Sometimes I’m all-in or, when I’m frustrated, all-out, and itching to look at news on my phone to help block out my frustration with what my dad calls “little legs that don’t respond to our voices.”  If I am on the phone, no matter how involved he is with his game, my son will notice. My suggestion? Try to avoid this.

Communication 101
Once I had a miscommunication with my daughter and one of her teachers about where/how to pick her up from school. When I arrived, she was standing all alone, her tiny little self, in front of a tree. I grabbed her hand and marched over to the teacher and chewed her out with (I thought) righteous indignation. I did so in front of my daughter.  Teacher did not like this. (She’s kinda scary anyway.) This did not go well, nor did it yield the intended results.  She, of course, with a cool and indifferent attitude, employed expert diffusing skills, ”there there,” etc.  My suggestion? Try to avoid this.

Drop the billy club.
I have made some HUGE, HUGE parenting mistakes, in some cases, unforgivable. Sometimes I beat myself all up over them, or spend time worrying about how much counseling my kids will have to have when they are grown. This is not helpful to anyone. My suggestion? Try to avoid this.