🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

I was touched this week hearing a teen girl share about a fight with her father—the conflict escalated and the father was yelling at the teen, who then retreated to her room to cry. It was upsetting to her, as she’s close to her father and doesn’t like conflict. When I asked if her dad apologized, a sweet smile crept across her face -- “Yes.” It was beautiful to behold how meaningful it was for this adolescent. She felt so much better and they were able to discuss what led to the conflict in the first place.

This story stood out in its simplicity for healing and because it’s uncommon for parents to apologize when they make mistakes. Over the years, I’ve heard many stories of children distressed, sad, and angry at parents that don’t own up when they make a mistake. We, parents, make mistakes all the time, myself included. On a weekly basis, I hear of a new way that I want to avoid upsetting my own children. We are human. No need to be super hard on ourselves about everything…but I do think it makes a difference when our children hear us offer a true apology when we’ve been out of line. We want them to be able to take ownership of mistakes, be able to apologize when necessary, and not carry shame over guilty transgressions that they’ve never owned. If there is a Rupture, it’s really not that hard to Repair.

Ask Yourself:

Did your parents apologize to you when they blew it? If so, how did that feel growing up? If not, what stopped them?
Is it difficult for you to apologize? If so, how does it affect your relationships at home, work, and friendships?
Are you making this more complicated than it needs to be?
What might it feel like to apologize, allow your loved one to forgive you, and then let it go?
What impact would modeling how to apologize to your children have in their lives?
Any small shift you could make?

Food for thought: You are parenting your grandchildren right now. Let that sink in. How you model parenting to your children will likely be replicated in the way that your children parent someday…so you are essentially parenting your own future grandchildren. It really matters how you show up ❤️.

Be well!