February 24-28
Love Notes Gallery
Feb. 23 ♥ YOU ARE NOT LAZY. You can't afford to be. But because you put greater emphasis on your child's emotional health than on academic excellence, extracurricular activities, or a perfectly kept home, some folks may find your parenting insufficiently rigorous. You know better. You know that a day spent at home bonding over books or board games is more valuable than a day spent racing from event to event. You know that for some children, learning how to solve a story problem or decode a sentence can be as monumental an achievement as making the honor roll. You know that just getting through the day with no major disasters is a pretty big accomplishment right there. If that makes people think you're lazy, so be it. You save your energy for what's important.
Feb. 22 ♥ YOU ARE INFORMED. It takes you by surprise sometimes how little other parents pay attention to the information and issues that you are so concerned with. You hear about kids falling further and further behind in school because their parents don't advocate for them; you look at a roomful of children and find yourself diagnosing problems that nobody else seems to even recognize. Others may think you're obsessed, but your children benefit from your efforts to know all you can about everything from their educational rights to the latest advances in medicine to trendy theories on learning and behavior management. Being informed helps you make knowledgeable decisions -- and hold your own in conversations with smarty-pants professionals.
Feb. 21 ♥ YOU ARE A REALIST. Say that like it's a good thing. You don't waste a lot of time agonizing over whether your toddler will get into the right college or your grade-schooler is getting enough science to succed in med school or your high-schooler is making the right business contacts. You're more in touch with reality than that -- you know that what really counts is whether your child is happy, and functioning, and moving forward. Whatever plans and dreams you may have once had for your child, you've been forced to replace them with ones more appropriate to his or her own personal abilities and interests, strengths and limitations. That's something every parent should do, but so many never attempt, often with heartbreaking results. You've gotten the heartbreak part over early.
Feb. 20 ♥ YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. There are many who would prefer you to sit down and shut up (including, sometimes, your child), but it is both your right and your responsibility to speak up. Your perspective is valuable, and without it mistakes may be made, misunderstandings may abound, misinterpretations may stand. Speaking out doesn't necessarily make you popular, and getting people to listen and to take you at your word can be a challenge, but you know that the consequences of polite silence -- for your child, for your family, for other children and families who have no voice -- are far more dangerous than getting a reputation for being a big mouth and a troublemaker. Sit down and shut up? Sure -- after you've given everybody an earful.
Feb. 19 ♥ YOU HAVE GOOD INSTINCTS. You know what you know, and nobody can convince you otherwise. You may trust other people's opinions, but you trust yours the most, and when you've gone against your instincts you've regretted it. You understand your child better than your child understands him or herself, and that puts all the weight of decision-making and behavior monitoring on your shoulders. But you're up to the challenge. Although you may second-guess yourself, your first impressions are usually right on the money. You've worked to make that so, by educating yourself about your child's issues, filtering the words of experts through your personal experience, and learning from what works and what doesn't. You go with your gut, but your gut is golden.
Feb. 18 ♥ YOU ARE TALENTED. Maybe you can sing or dance or paint or write; maybe not. But you are talented in ways most people never imagine. With no particular training, you can calm an uncontrollable child, teach an unteachable one, create new disciplinary strategies on the fly and improvise therapeutic activities. Like a master playwright, you weave scenarios for games of pretend; like an award-winning actor, you teach emotions with facial expressions, motor skills with sweeping gestures, a love for literature with dramatic book readings. You may not be an artist, but you can instantly recognize the subject matter in even the most abstract crayon scribblings or stick-figure action. Your talent may go largely unheralded, but it's hardly unappreciated.
