Trust yourself and your kids. Or live in torment.
You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don’t trust enough.
Frank Crane, US Presbyterian Minister and author (1861 – 1928)
I suffered a bit of a trust crisis earlier this week. It often happens towards the end of a holiday!
This kind of negative thinking tends to creep up on me without notice until one day NOTHING is ok.
At the higher order level, I doubt all the decisions I’m making. And most fundamentally (and unhelpfully) I doubt that my kids are going to turn out ok.
I find I’m wondering if my boundaries are too tough. Or too lenient. Like, will my kids be socially ostracised if I don’t give in and buy a Wii?
I might begin to think that my life needs some major reorganising, like a move to New Zealand. I’m not kidding. That was my solution during last month’s crisis. It lasted 24 hours.
In short, every so often, I get well and truly mired in a temporary but total lack of trust in the process of life.
I’ve come to accept that regular trust crises are a fairly normal part of being a 21st century parent. Or at least they are for this particular parent.
While my crisis is happening, it feels like nothing less than living in torment.
Thankfully, there is a solution. The solution is for me to return to a place of trust.
I am ok. My kids are ok. They are going to turn out just fine, as long as I trust them (and me) and keep my oars to myself.
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