Long Term Gain

Short term pain- long term gain. It would have been easier to go to the store and purchase our angel tree gifts while they were at school.🏫⁣
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Like A LOT easier. It’s hard enough going to the store with a 4,3, & 1 y/o-much more when you are shopping for toys for other kids. I wanted to give us a pass, make excuses and say “oh well we focus on compassion and giving enough” or “they probably won’t understand this experience- or remember it anyway”, “we are busy”(the perpetual excuse for everything).💚❤️💚❤️⁣
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But we all went and picked out toys and clothes for other kids that need them more than us.🐻👛⚽️🚙🎠⁣
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They actually had fun. No tears were shed- by them or me. 😅⁣
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This experience has sparked important conversations about money, privilege, homelessness and how we handle those issues. ⁣
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We often underestimate our preschoolers and ourselves- avoiding the short term pain for the long term gain. But this doesn’t teach them how to be a kid that has compassion, courage, handles hard things, survives delayed gratification - or no gratification, gives other people the things they want, sacrifices for others. 💕⁣
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𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦?⁣
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This outing also reminded me that what brings me parenting anxiety isn’t even CLOSE to other parents that face much harder choices for their kids each day. ⁣
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𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? ⁣
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Go out to dinner without the iPad? Join a league or club with people outside your race or income bracket? Play with kids that have different abilities? Have tough conversations about race/gender/sexuality/death? ⁣
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I challenge you to try. And then try again. And again. 💪🏿💪🏾💪🏻💪⁣
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Let us know your experiences doing intimidating things with kids that paid off