|
Rear View Mirror Memories |
By:
Dakota Ulrich |
|
|
Do you ever find yourself reflecting back to your childhood when your children are reaching different milestones in their maturity? I know that I do. I find myself reminiscing about different school events that I took part in. I think this helps me be a better parent because during these times of reminiscing it is easy to get back in touch with the feelings that I was experiencing at the time. Remembering these feelings helps me related easier to what my children are experiencing. It is so easy to dismiss these feelings when we are an adult, but to a teenager they can be overwhelming.
I had a difficult time doing this when my daughter reached the age of learning to drive. I am not sure why this new phase in her life has been such a challenge for me to accept. I just did not feel that she was responsible enough to drive. We had a huge argument about this one morning. As I was driving to work that morning I was still seething about the things we had said to each other. I looked in the rear view mirror to make sure that the lane behind me was safe to turn into. The act of looking into the rear view mirror brought back memories of my driver’s education classes. I immediately remember the feelings I experienced when I was my daughter’s age. I was a very mature and responsible sixteen year old. I took school seriously and had been working part time babysitting jobs since I was twelve years old. I was furious that my parents were holding me back from driving when some of my irresponsible classmates were being given vehicles. My anger at my daughter turned to instant remorse. She was as responsible as I had been and I was treating her like I had been treated. Looking in the rear view mirror reminded me of my mother constantly reminding me to do this when I first started driving.
I again looked in the review mirror to insure that the turning lane was opened. I then pulled over to the side of the road and called my office to tell them I was not going to be in that day. I then went to my daughter’s school and had the office locate her and ask her to come to the office. When she walked in she was very surprised to see me. I gave her a big hug and I asked her if she had anything important in classes’ that day. When she indicated she did not I signed her out and we went shopping, out to lunch and a matinee. I asked her forgiveness for treating her like she was irresponsible. It was a turning point in our relationship and the beginning of her driving lessons.
|
|
Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article51552.html |
|
|
|
|
|
