Common Ground (My first submission for the CollectivelyWise website)
Posted April 19, 2010
Posted April 19, 2010
As a parent, it is imperative to connect with your children in a multitude of ways. Sometimes, I get a little lackadaisical. I become unaware of our non-connectedness. But, then, something happens...either by their doing, my doing, or by intervention from heaven above that draws us back together and we stand on common ground.
My middle child, Sage, has had a "thing" for coffee since before she could walk. I remember having a square coffee table in our living room. It had four glass pieces framed to give off the appearance of a window. I have always woken up to 2 cups of coffee since becoming an adult and my taste for coffee was developed early on in life when I would sip on the leftover chilled coffee my dad would make. In an effort to indulge my continued habit and not risk burning injury, I would put my coffee cup in the center of the coffee table as I would relax in the morning and watch my young ones play. Sage had an army crawl and didn't begin walking until she was roughly a year old. Around the age of 9 months, I watched her army crawl over to the coffee table, pull herself up, grab for the cup of lukewarm (the only reason I did not stop her) coffee, pull it close by the handle, pick it up and proceed to sip from it. She was a natural! I don't allow Sage to have coffee often. When I do it is usually just a smidgen in a cup, complete with cream and sugar. Just this passed weekend she and I made a run for some household necessities. As we were leaving the little town we were in, she asked me (after reading the sign at McDonald's) what a Carmel Frappe was. So we went to check it out together. Her eyes lit up with excitement when I handed her a small & I took my medium. We chatted all the way home. We stood on common ground.
When I was a child and even into my teenage years and older, my mom and I would write notes to one another. Back then, cell phones weren't around and this was how we gave each other "heads up" on our whereabouts. My kids write me notes and draw me pictures, frequently. My oldest child, Zoe, sent me an email a few weeks ago. The kids and I share a common love for a band, Family Force 5. They are a silly band, that is lyrically safe (in my opinion) and a little edgy in sound that I can also appreciate and rock out to. Zoe had been poking around on You tube and found a newer track that was called Topsy Turvy. Knowing that I was involved in my own internet searches and school work, she forwarded the link to me along with a little love note via email. I sent her back my opinion of the song and told her how much I appreciated the fact that she kept me "in the loop". She sought me out and connected, on common ground.
What are some of the ways that you share common ground with your children? Are there certain ways that they reach out to you? Are we encouraging our children as they find things that are uniquely special to them? Or are we too busy and want everything they like to be in line with what we as adults find enjoyment out of? Look for the common ground and connect with your little ones.
http://www.collectivelywise.com/2010/04/common-ground.html#comments
For those of you who are curious, Topsy Turvy by Family Force Five http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g2kBslEjhs&feature=related
My middle child, Sage, has had a "thing" for coffee since before she could walk. I remember having a square coffee table in our living room. It had four glass pieces framed to give off the appearance of a window. I have always woken up to 2 cups of coffee since becoming an adult and my taste for coffee was developed early on in life when I would sip on the leftover chilled coffee my dad would make. In an effort to indulge my continued habit and not risk burning injury, I would put my coffee cup in the center of the coffee table as I would relax in the morning and watch my young ones play. Sage had an army crawl and didn't begin walking until she was roughly a year old. Around the age of 9 months, I watched her army crawl over to the coffee table, pull herself up, grab for the cup of lukewarm (the only reason I did not stop her) coffee, pull it close by the handle, pick it up and proceed to sip from it. She was a natural! I don't allow Sage to have coffee often. When I do it is usually just a smidgen in a cup, complete with cream and sugar. Just this passed weekend she and I made a run for some household necessities. As we were leaving the little town we were in, she asked me (after reading the sign at McDonald's) what a Carmel Frappe was. So we went to check it out together. Her eyes lit up with excitement when I handed her a small & I took my medium. We chatted all the way home. We stood on common ground.
When I was a child and even into my teenage years and older, my mom and I would write notes to one another. Back then, cell phones weren't around and this was how we gave each other "heads up" on our whereabouts. My kids write me notes and draw me pictures, frequently. My oldest child, Zoe, sent me an email a few weeks ago. The kids and I share a common love for a band, Family Force 5. They are a silly band, that is lyrically safe (in my opinion) and a little edgy in sound that I can also appreciate and rock out to. Zoe had been poking around on You tube and found a newer track that was called Topsy Turvy. Knowing that I was involved in my own internet searches and school work, she forwarded the link to me along with a little love note via email. I sent her back my opinion of the song and told her how much I appreciated the fact that she kept me "in the loop". She sought me out and connected, on common ground.
What are some of the ways that you share common ground with your children? Are there certain ways that they reach out to you? Are we encouraging our children as they find things that are uniquely special to them? Or are we too busy and want everything they like to be in line with what we as adults find enjoyment out of? Look for the common ground and connect with your little ones.
http://www.collectivelywis
For those of you who are curious, Topsy Turvy by Family Force Five http://www.youtube.com/wat
