Monday, June 9, 2008

BSM: Parenting Imperfections

Parenting imperfections???
How much time do you have? I have been a parent for some years now (19!), and I have had countless moments of imperfection....too many to confess in just one simple post! Evidently, I REALLY need to tune in to the blog series that Tracey mentioned- Brene Brown's The Gift of Imperfect Parenting. I have never before thought of my imperfections as a gift. What I hope this series does for me is confirm that most mothers do in fact struggle with the uncertainty of what we are doing...I hope that I am not alone in my worries. I am the mother of a head strong, lost, and struggling nineteen year old daughter, and I OFTEN HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I AM DOING AS A PARENT!!! Some days, I want to stand on the roof tops and yell, "HELP!!!" I know I have made mistakes, errors in judgment, and had some of the worst imperfect moments...I am certainly planning to tune in later today. I may even purchase the CD! I am certain that this is something I will need to revisit- LOL! All in all, I hope to learn something that will benefit me as a mother.



The picture I chose as my best shot is one from a series of shots that I took awhile ago for a class when I was getting my master's degree. It is symbolic of many of the struggles I have had as a parent of a teenager in today's society...she is faced almost daily with access to drugs, alcohol, and sex, you name it...these issues are present in the lives of our children, even when we think they are not. Many of these things blindsided me as a mother. Even though (I confess) I was a rowdy teenager myself, it was a completely different world then. It is worse now. I continue to hope that better days will come for our youth- that we as a society will recognize our shortcomings as parents and community members, and stand up for what our children need. May God bless all of you that are newly starting on your journey as parents...I pray your years are a piece of cake!!
For more Best Shot Monday photos, take some time to visit Mother May I.

12 comments:

Holly {ArtistMotherTeacher} said...

Powerful shot!

Kara said...

That was a great post - I don't have kids yet, but the thought of paretning my future kids in their teen years is quite scary to think about. I think your picture says it all. Growing up isn't so easy for everyone.

Anonymous said...

That is a powerful photo and post. Many days I am up there on the roof with you screaming "HELP!" I've parented one son through the teen years, and we're just beginning with another and two on his heels.

Maggie said...

Powerful shot indeed! The composition of it is fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Dark...but sometimes life is dark.
Beautiful shot.

Colleen @AMadisonMom said...

Oh, I am so not ready to even think of the teen years ahead. It's so true... bigger kids, bigger worries.

Jaimee said...

My kiddos are just babies, but I already fear these things! Great, powerful shot!

Christina said...

Wow. This is POWERFUL stuff. I already feel that way with a two year old, I can't even imagine when the worries have move from getting her to eat her veggies to getting her to say no to all the dangers this world offers. Wow. I can't even bare to think of it. That picture says so much.

Dawn said...

Not to sound all "punny" but this is sobering stuff! Powerful picture and you really gave us something to think about!

natalie said...

Friend,

You know I LOVE that series of shots and I love even more your reason for choosing them. I've had some pretty impressive imperfect parenting moments here recently.

Love you!

Unknown said...

Well, I still think our kids will be on Oprah....

Arizaphale said...

Just as long as they're not on Springer... :-D

Seriously though you guys. As I embark on this phase of parenting I bow to you who have gone before me. I am sure I will balls it up royally from time to time but I pray that the foundations of connection and relationship that we have will be our emotional life jackets through the years to come. Crap metaphor but I am only a maths teacher after all :-D
Remarkable photo too. Cool post Andi!