This is not the first time you'll hear that instead of us, parents, teaching our kids values, it's the other way around.
Parents would usually list down a number of things their children teach them, without any effort or without really intending to -- patience, loving unconditionally, faithfulness, etc. Yes, I am also in the process of learning and re-learning all of these, thanks to my two beautiful children.
Aside from these, I have my own set of stories to share, because I found myself doing and learning things that I found very difficult doing, and it was only through my children that I was able to do it.But one story that I really can't pass is:
Saying "Sorry"
I'd be the first one to admit that between me and hubby, hubby is usually the first one to break the ice or say sorry every time we have an argument or a petty fight. I don't know. it's just difficult for me to blurt out this single word. Even after we have patched things up, it still usually takes 2-3 days before I say sorry to him, even if I was the one who started the fight or even if I was the guilty one. Anyway, that is slowly changing after I've seen myself with Liam. There were instances, actually a lot of them, where he needed to say sorry, but was just too proud or stubborn to say it. I got alarmed. I knew in those instances that I needed to do some concrete steps if I wanted my son to learn how to say sorry. And I knew it should start with me. I needed to model the behaviour to him.
After struggling for a few months, I guess I've reached my goal of teaching him to say sorry :-) There was a big change! He even says sorry again, for the silly thing he did before he goes to bed, even if he has said sorry to me already as soon as I reprimanded him. This is of course after achieving my own goal of saying sorry to people I've wronged, including Sam and Liam or when I did something silly.
Funny thing, this time when I forget to say sorry, Liam is the one who reminds me to say it, and mind you, he won't stop asking me to say sorry, until I have!
This is just one of the many lessons my children are teaching me. There are still plenty of stories to share, but I'll just take it and write it, one story at a time :-)
At the end of the day, it's again the challenge of becoming a parent, and the blessings that goes with it :-)
