They Let Her Do WHAT?

I’m completely fascinated with the recent story of Abby Sunderland’s rescue from her damaged sailboat while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. 

Here are the parts that I find most shocking:

She is 16!

She was in a sailboat, by herself, in the stormy Indian Ocean!

She was stranded for three days! 

And what about her parents?  The New York Times reports that “Mr. Sunderland praised his daughter’s skills as a sailor. He said he not only would let her try the voyage again, but would also ‘absolutely endorse that wholeheartedly.'” 

Under what circumstances would I allow one of my children to attempt such an endeavor? Over my dead body.  That’s when.

To be fair, one of my biggest weaknesses as a parent is my difficulty in letting my children take risks.  I’ll admit that I am at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from Abby’s parents.  I don’t let Katie play in our fenced-in yard by herself.  I don’t let her eat grapes unless they are cut into four pieces.  I won’t leave the room if she’s bathing. 

They let her attempt to sail around the world.  Alone. And, I’ll repeat it, she is 16!

While I admire parents who allow their children the freedom to explore their world, I can’t comprehend the Sunderland’s decision to allow their daughter (and their son, who attempted the same journey last year at age 17) to take such a risk. 

There has to be a happy medium doesn’t there?  Remembering to find a balance is something that I work on every single day.

I participated in a parenting webinar last week offered by Tiffany from Bloggy Moms and conducted by Amy from Positive Parenting Solutions.  One of the biggest things that I walked away with was the idea that children need to know that they belong and that they are significant.  Amy inspired me to allow Katie to take on tasks that I had previously done myself, to either save time or because it hadn’t occurred to me that she could do them on her own.  She’s now setting the table, helping to empty the dishwasher, and thanks to Jen, over at Denton Sanitorium, she’s also sorting laundry.   (Jen is an inspiration, across the board.  I am constantly learning new things from her.) 

Thank you, Tiffany, Amy, and Jen!

While I applaud the Sunderlands for encouraging their children to take on challenges, I can fathom neither the magnitude nor the danger associated with their choices. 

Anyone want to share their thoughts with me?  Do you agree with the Sunderlands choice?  How much risk is too much?

Imperfections

The super sweet and always thoughtful Niki, from Twenty something and blogging, has honored me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you so much, Niki! (Since Genina honored me with this award last week, I’m feeling all Meryl Streep now.  Thanks, girls!).

To accept this award, I must do the following:

1.  Thank the person who honored me with this award.

2.  Share seven things about myself.

3. Pass the award on to fifteen bloggers who I’ve recently discovered who I think are fantastic.

I’ve chosen to share with you a list of seven of my imperfections.

We’re often told that we’re too hard on ourselves, that we need to sing our own praises and use positive self talk.  While there’s merit to that, there is also beauty and value in humility, in being able to recognize things about ourselves that need work.  Once we’ve identified those things, we can either work on them or laugh and recognize that perhaps these are the things make us human and unique.

Things that I’ll probably just accept:

1.  I interrupt.  Constantly.  I even interrupt myself.  I have honestly worked on this one, but made zero progress.  It isn’t that I think that what I have to say is more important than what you’re saying; I just know that if I don’t speak RIGHT NOW, I will completely forget what I was going to say when it is my turn to speak.

2.  There are chores that I truly hate to do and I will often pretend that I don’t see them so that Craig will do them.  (Sorry, Babe!)

Example?  The lint trap in my dryer is so full that it is undoubtedly a fire hazard.  Every time I pull it out, it sends me sneezing hell for at least one full day. So I typically leave it for Craig.

Another example?  When the toilet paper is running low, I will be sure that I leave two squares on it so I don’t have to change it.

One more?  When the trash is getting full, I cram it down so that I don’t have to take it out.  Yeah, I’m sweet like that.

(I bet you wish you lived with me now!)

3.  I can be inconsiderate. When my feet are cold, I will unapologetically put them on Craig when we get into bed.  (I know!)  But he’s a furnace!  (This foot thing?  It won’t change. Ever.)

Things that I need to work on:

4.  I smother my kids.  I know that I do this and I know that it is unhealthy, but I don’t know how to stop.  I hover, I control, and I obsess.

5.  I often make plans that sound great in the moment, but when that moment arrives, I bail.  This ties in closely to my difficulty in saying no. (I have made a bit of progress here, however.)

6.  I do not take criticism well.  I get sulky, insecure, and unattractive.  (If anyone knows how I can learn to be better about this, I welcome your suggestions…or do I?)

7.  Sometimes I only partially listen when people are talking to me.  This happens when I have a million things on my mind or a long list of things that I have to do.  I can almost always repeat back the gist of the story, but not always all of the details. (Again, I’m truly working on it!)

So, there you have it.

That was liberating.

And finally, here is the list of new-to-me blogs that I’ve been enjoying:

Best of Fates

From Here to Four

baby bumble b

Listography

Anybody Want a Peanut?

Mommy of a Monster

I’m only doing six, because I’m a rebel.