I suppose this is the time of year when we all reflect and recommit ourselves to our various causes. For me this began several weeks ago as I realized there were certain things in my conduct that were not in harmony with my beliefs. To be specific, my temper. As mothers we have a bucket. We give and give and give out of our bucket until pretty soon we have nothing left to give. If we don't refill our bucket then we break down, blow up and freak out. As I reached out to those people and resources that I knew could help me I recognized how empty my bucket has been. As soon as things would start to get sticky, I would blow up. Unfortunately, this most commonly occurred with my children or my husband.
This bucket I'm talking about can be filled with a number of things. It's all those things that make up our health. Our bucket can be filled up with physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual stimuli. It's easy to get caught up in our role as a mother and put our needs last in the name of self-sacrifice. However, I'm realizing playing the martyr really does no one any good. When mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy...am I right?
So this year, I'm putting away the mommy guilt and planning to keep my bucket full. My intellectual aspect is this blog. It allows me get all of the racing thoughts out and my wheels turning. How are you planning to keep your bucket full in 2014?
I like your perspective. I'm trying to do the same. I found that if I tend to my kids needs earlier then I can avoid longer bouts of attitude. I've also learned that when my kids watch violence they are more prone to temper tantrums. So we're cutting some shows out of their lives & trying to read scriptures with them during a wakeful & calm moment. Even if it's one verse. We don't get veryb far in our studies, but we get further in our good attitudes. Anyway, these are some things I've noticed with my family & how we plan to stop the anger before it starts. With that being said, my 3 year old is being rather rebellious & I'm sure I'll be learning a lot from him. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Maddie. I sometimes struggle with losing my temper and patient with my daughter, when really the thing I'm stressing out about has more to do with me than her. Like you said, we need to make sure we are getting what we need instead of sacrificing it on the alter of "self-denial." Good travels this new year.
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