I felt the familiar feelings of frustration mixed with guilt starting to bubble up inside me, and I knew it was time for me to detach. I had done all I could for Aviva; now she was going to have to deal with the situation herself.
Photo: Shutterstock.
It was the morning of my daughter Aviva’s school trip. Her class was going to a place where they would get wet and they needed swimming gear as well as a change of clothing.
With 20 minutes left until she had to leave the house ten-year-old Aviva decided that her regular swimming bag was not big enough to fit all her stuff. “Mommy” she called out in a panic “I can’t fit all my stuff in the bag!”
I stopped in the middle of dressing my two-year-old and hurried to Aviva’s room to help her. On the tip of my tongue were the words “Why didn’t you pack last night? I don’t have time to help you now.”
Instead of letting these words out I took a deep breath. Criticism wasn’t going to be helpful now. Focus on helping the child not berating her I instructed myself.
Create a free account to keep reading.
