Day #12 - Love Lets the Other Win - Nicole

I have been waiting 4 days for a disagreement to occur that I could follow through!! I have a little one, so I think I will be grateful nothing larger is on my plate right now.

The issue was in parenting our 10yr old son. He received a game system for Christmas that he wanted for a year and it has brought us some disagreements with our son and at times, with each other. This issue was in regards to a game he wants. I was not sure if I thought this game was appropriate for our son. I want to protect him, his heart and mind as mommy! It's hard to let go and hand him over to daddy. As you can imagine, our son cried & I tried to help him see my view because I am Mom. As Andy said "I talked it to death". Andy waited until the children were in bed to bring to my attention that it would be better to give him time to process and think about the situation after a simple explination. Give him time to deal with it in his own way. Then when we sit down with him, he will have a clear mind and be able to understand. I was pushing this little one to understand and I wanted him to be happy with my decision. We both agreed that we need to help them understand but the happiness & gratitude may come late, much later!

What did it cost me? BEING WRONG!!!! That is hard. For the fist 8 years of being parents I was the main caregiver & disciplinarian and it is time that Andy desperately wants to be involved and I need to step aside and allow him to be Daddy in good times and bad, even if I would handle it different. I learned that my way is not always the way things need to be done. When it comes to boys, he does know more than me. He also remembers situations he was in with his parents and how he wished it was handle differently and he has a chance to impact his children in this way. I feel closer to Andy when I was able to come under his leadership and direction. It sure took the burden off me and I felt protected!!! Lesson: I should do this more and in different areas in our marriage! God clearly showed me that this situation had nothing to do with a game but gave us opportunity to learn how to communicate with each other and our son! What a blessing!!