Living With "It's Not Fair"

"Mom, there are only five marshmellows in my cup.

Levi has six.

It's not fair."

"Yes, you are right.  Hmmm..."

"There."

This is met by a face that frowns,

and

then I feel like a mean mom.

But sometimes it's hard to be a mom.

I sometimes tire of

"It's not fair."

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,

that giveth to all men liberally,

and upbraideth not;

and it shall be given him."

James 1:5

Mothering requires a lot of wisdom,

wisdom that I often feel I don't have.

I have to ask God for wisdom

A LOT.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Geese have been honking overhead the last few days,

and life has returned to our pond.

I love signs of spring.

The warmth has beckoned us outdoors to see if we can smell spring

in the mud

and sunshine rays.

There has been damage by the wind.

A favorite tree that was split down the middle gave way.

It finally succumbed to the force of the winds

that have been blowing winter a gusty farewell party,

or at least,

leading us to believe so.

Violet has enjoyed the last days of climbing that tree,

although at a different angle now.

She does not adapt to change very easily

and cries over fallen trees,

until she gets to play in them.

I can understand.

I don't like to see our lovely trees damaged either.

I don't much like things that I love to change.

I have to fight the

"it's not fair" mentality often myself.

I like having more marshmellows in my cup.

But I know that contentment is better than worrying about what the next guy has.

Learning to be happy with a few marshmellows is so much better than having just one marshmellow

or none at all.

Learning to appreciate and rejoice in someone else's good is an important lesson,

and sometimes I wonder if it's my job to help my children learn this.

Will it make it easier for them?

Or should a mother love a child and let them learn the hard way,

as an adult when the world will not give them everything

so that it will be "fair."

Are they looking in the right direction by wanting "fair" in a world of diversity,

a world of frustration and fluctuation,

a world of lessons that are best conquered by embracing contentment.

Maybe it is my job to ease them into a life that isn't going to be what they think is "fair."

Maybe?

I do it sometimes:

I'm mean to my own child,

hoping she will learn a lesson about fairness,

contentment,

appreciation.

Are there life lessons in a cup of marshmellows

waiting for hot chocolate to melt them away

after a day of looking for spring in the brisk outdoors?

But then sometime

during the day,

when her attitude is good

and I hear her singing again,

I find a way to do this...

because I am still a mom.

Linked to:

We are that Family: Works for me Wednesday
Spiritual Sundays

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