More about Mothering...Expectations.

Even though I've had several kids, I can't really say I'm very experienced since one of my kids is still in diapers and the others aren't too far ahead of him. Somethings are easier to make a call on than others. Things like,
"Fifteen seconds to brush your teeth doesn't count!" or
"No, you can't wear those pants 3 days in a row, even though they are your favorite, they are dirty and need to be washed."

There is a saying that says,
"Expect nothing and you'll get nothing."
There's a lot of truth to this, specially when dealing with children. The problem arises in knowing when and how much to expect.
There is another saying that says,
"You can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar."
This one is all true, but hard to apply when the expectations aren't met.
You know... if your child's chore is to sweep the dining room floor and he sweeps right around two or three toys (some even his) and a few cheerios and says he's done... for the 2ND time around.

Expectations are hard to make a call on sometimes for me. It's easier when they are little (under4) but it gets progressively more difficult to judge because the little boogers get so smart.
Not only are you trying to build good character in them by teaching them common sense and responsibility, but you also have to decide whether they are really too tired....really don't know how...just not mature enough... or just plain lazy. This is where the thought "This is Mothering and I love it," starts to waiver into, "I really want a vacation at this moment, but since I love you let me explain to you the situation here..."

I could take the easy route and not expect anything from them. No piano/violin practice, no decent handwriting, beds unmade, no book racks organized...etc but then the 9yr. old wouldn't be ready for his yearly, favorite, group recital on Saturday, and the 7yr. old could not look back on his nicely done copy work and compare it to what he didn't deem worthy of his binder.

Sometimes I feel like the bad person. The one that spoiled all the fun. Sometimes I feel reinforcements coming my way when my kids do something impressive and they are glad about it. All I can say is that this week Benjamin Franklin had it right,
"No Pain, No Gain."

Expectations are good if the one expecting them means well. My job is to make sure that my expectations for them are well aligned with God's.