My Rule of Six Bullet Point Wrap Up

My Personal Rule of Six:

~Only for today, I will act with the authority over my children that God placed in me as their mother.

~Only for today, I will react with good humor in all but the most dire of situations.

~Only for today, I will pro-act, and head off trouble before it starts: I will maintain our routines as much as possible and guard against the two evils of hastiness and indecision.

~Only for today, I will appear self-confident in my dealings with the children: I will maintain a smile on my face, a twinkle in my eye, an "easy grace and an erect carriage, as the Spanish peasant bears her water-jar."

~Only for today, I will have confidence in my children's academic and behavioral abilities; which I will gain knowledge of through thoughtful observation

~Only for today I will think of the matter at hand in the present moment, without trying to solve the future's problems or wish away the past.

The Bullet Points:

Step 1:
* stop "losing it" as often

* draw the line between children being sinful and simply annoying me

* be more of a gentle leader using routines

* for now, don't let a child chose "C" when the choices were "A" and "B", no matter how convincing

Step 2:
* trust God can make up for my weaknesses

* see the children as "silly little people" (aka "childish") instead of the all-powerful larger-than-life crazy-makers they've gotten to be in my mind. Basically, elevating MYSELF into the proper position of age and authority

*approach things with humor: smiles, songs, rhymes - try to see the humor before doing anything else

*defining "dire situation" - when *is* it OK that I show my anger

Step 3:
*I will try to develop and maintain stricter routines despite Jeffrey's ever changing needs.

*I will try to keep the younger two girls happy and productive by guiding them to new activities before they've had a chance to get bored and snappy with what they're doing.

*I'm not sure how yet, but I will try to incorporate beauty, rhythm, and meaning into our routines/schedule. I think we all desperately need a certain calmness and healing to pervade our days.

Step 4:
*Work on my core muscles (anyone got a motivation pill I can take?)

*Continue to smile more.

*Use "uh oh" with my 3yo more; think of something calmly similar for my older kids - something easy that I can do without thinking, to circumvent my first impulse, which is to get grumbly. (Found something on "strong sitting" - I need to write more about that)

*Continue to work on my personal issues that make me lack self-esteem.

*Figure out how to not feel frantic when more than one person needs me, especially when one of them is being disobedient.

Step 5:
*Build some observation time for EACH child into my routine. I tend to be guilty of lumping them all together, but that really doesn't work when you need to observe their individual needs!

*Find some kind of observation form to help my scattered mind (any suggestions, readers? I think with a form I'll better understand what I'm supposed to be looking for!).

*Not expecting the worst. Treating each moment as fresh and new, not "typical of this child" so that I don't punish for the sins of the past.

Step 6:
* take a second to step back in each situation, see the need, and try to solve it, instead of worrying that they'll "never act any better" or thinking "they are *always* this way! ARG!"


Cover ALL steps with prayer.