Lessons to learn

Someone once told me that our kids are brought to this earth to teach us things we haven't quite learned yet. I've given this a lot of thought these last few months as we've started having Austin evaluated for Aspergers, OCD and other disorders to determine if there's more to his world than we originally believed.

See, I was under the impression that parents were here to teach their children. We're here to teach them how to navigate through this crazy world we live in. To ensure they are brought up understanding that each of us deserves respect and freedom to make choices and mistakes. Most importantly, to teach our children the importance of family and belonging, to know the power of loving someone.

I am realizing I was wrong. I can and will teach my children as much about these items as I can, however, what I am realizing is that they can teach me far more than I can ever give back. 

Austin has taught me:
  •  To appreciate how important it is to understand that everyone has a story.
    • We need to take time to recognize our story is what made us who we are before judging others.

  •  That patience is something I can have, even in the worst of cirumstances.
    • This one I'm still working on. I can be very patient while my son has a 2 hour long, physically challenging, rage of anger. I can't always seem to find this patience at work or in the "real world".

  •  That there is always more than one way to view the world, and boy when you look at the world through Austin's eyes it's a whole lot more interesting!

  • That planning and organization actually do make life run smoother.
    • I considered myself a "live in the moment" type of person. I could get up in the morning and just drive,  no destination or goal in mind. I figured eventually I'd get somewhere interesting. I recognize now that while spontaneity is exciting, having goals keeps life moving much smoother.
I know that Austin and I have only scratched the surface in this "teacher/student" relationship we have. While I am unsure of the lessons ahead of us and honestly very nervous and quite scared of what is to come, there is a large part of me that looks forward to learning more. He's an amazingly interesting teacher, one of the best I've ever had!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Working moms and snow days

The results are in....

The power of the Wii