parenting(4/2)
How to be an adult
Artur Piszek describes the situation of many adults in the United States, đź’¬ We are all sure everybody else has [adulting] figured out while being too ashamed to admit we could use a few pointers ourselves. Artur Piszek Are We Cursed By Specialization? His heading, “Modernity Likes the Helpless You” is partly true but, while I admit that “greas[ing] the wheels of commerce” is a factor, the modern shift to specialization is driven by more than capitalism.…
Fatherhood boils down to watching my own childhood
I watch [my daughter’s actions] from above, and this, I’m realizing, is what fatherhood seems to boil down to: watching my own childhood a second time, from a different vantage point. It’s a chance to remember and a chance, perhaps, to see that my mistakes and fears were not so unique. This other person is having them right now, all over again. In that sense, it’s also a chance to forgive myself.…
There is a fear most parents share
There’s a fear I presume most parents share: that your child will be so different from you that you’ll never truly connect. You’ll love them no matter what; you know that to be true. But a part of you — perhaps the more selfish part — also wants to find common ground. You want a shared interest, something to talk about, some private ritual, some inside joke, something to reinforce the genetic lifeline between you.…
Hilarious Bilson family quotes
This is a tear-inducing, hilarious list of quotes and circumstances with our boys Graham and Royal. Enjoy! Sept 25, 2021 Graham: "Sorry mama." (in regards to some very minor infraction). Amie: "It's ok Graham, I forgive you." Graham: "I forgive you too." Amie: "Oh, what do you forgive me for?" Graham: (turns and starts playing with his trucks, and quietly under his breath) "So much...so so much." Sept 26, 2021…
Raising independent adults
Our approach to raising children has closely aligned with the traditional Montessori value for children’s independence. We’ve been shaped by working with Graham’s Montessori teachers, by reading Cline and Fay’s Love & Logic, and by our own desperation to reduce fear and incessant help. I’m still wrestling with the emphasis on independence on a philosophical level, even as I’m convinced of its practical importance. I believe healthy humans are never independent.…
Leadership begins and ends at home
Leadership begins and ends at home. The place where one’s influence is fully tried, and where the effects of one’s leadership are most clearly seen, is in one’s own family. A leader with influence in the home will be obeyed by his children and respected by his wife. When Paul tells Timothy how to select good leaders for the local church in Ephesus, one key place he says to look is the leader’s family life:…