Expectations

These are my expectations. Parenting children with attachment issues, in that there were traumatic experiences they had no control over, can be exhausting because they do have control over their responses to you. As a primary caregiver, it is often the mother that gets the short end of the stick. So I made them their own sticks, with flags on them. Everybody has flags to do, and they are numbered since there are some expectations before going to school. We have hygeine issues, we have memory issues, and we have mom issues. The flags take out that level of interaction for me and give me more of a break in the nagging. It is simple, and if we have leverage or expectations from them- such as soccer games, pop, what have you, we have compliance. Now what I really need to do is make one for Luke too, because he is not always requiring they do the flags. Of course he just doesn't value it as much as I do since he is not the one regularily expecting compliance on such mundane things. The last two mornings I skipped out on the morning, if Luke offers, I take it. There is no reason for both of us to be up, the earlier for me the easier to error (either me or him, mostly him, haha.) He is going hunting this weekend though and the kids have off from school, so we will have plenty of time together. We are doing great this school year, minus the babysitting special ed and having to be on our toes advocating for our kids education. We are blessed, we are both at home now, so that is a great thing...most days. I also have been subbing some, which is lots of fun and enjoyable to accomplish things, unlike the laundry mission around here. I had the priviledge of hosting an adoptive moms retreat at a local camp this past weekend, so that was my hunting trip. Hunting for R&R, got it! Met some neat women and reconnected with others from years past. We unite in our unique parenting experiences and encourage one another, it is really rewarding to see how we are changing the future for our kiddos! Even though we are left confused and tattered, we are raising some great kids and are winning for trying! Hats off to all you awesome moms!