Parent | LOVE IN BLOOM BLOG

My youngest grandson is in his toddler years and I delight in him. His world is an adventure of discovery. He wants to taste, eat, smell and experience everything in his path. He is faster that a speeding bullet more powerful than a locomotive, Route 66 has nothing on him. Jesse is on the move and most of the time he walks to get to where he is going. Sometimes he seems like a toddler hurricane with gusty winds faster than Katrina and Ike combined. He has been known to blow through the house like a mighty wind.

I find that as my grandson’s toddling is tamed by the love and oversight of his parents. I find myself in the mist of a new but yet a familiar adventure. I can’t begin to tell you how often I have had to resist laughing at the most inappropriate times because Jesse is doing something just the way his dad did it at that age.

The truth is when my children went through a few rough patches as toddlers like when they were teething or learning to walk. There were a few sleepless nights and a few times they had head on crashes with doors and walls. I remember with humor considering getting my son a helmet while he was learning to walk. I wondered if he was going to walk or fly.

As a young mom I didn’t think those,” I just want to pull my hair out kind of days” were fun and as a grandmother I still don’t. But as a seasoned mother I am more relaxed and confident that our little toddler will be just fine as he developes into becoming a big boy and his parents become pros at this parenting stuff. However I do find myself saying; I can’t believe I did that when my children were that age or how in the world did we ever get through their toddler years?

What is best for babies and toddlers has changed throughout the decades but the one thing that remains the same is the little ones are still teething and mothers still have those I just want to pull my hair out kind of days. When I ask myself how did I make it through parenthood? I stop and remind myself it was all the love and hugs that we shared that got me through parenthood and them through their toddler years. Now they are loving and hugging their children and experiencing “those I just want to pull my hair out kind of days” and doing a terrific job. It’s amazing how much things change and yet how things still stay the same isn’t it?

In the movie Mrs.Doubtfire a little girl named Katie Mc Komcick writes a letter to Mrs.Doubtfire asking this question: If my parents are separated are we still a family?

Uunfortunately this is a question that many children are asking their parents and grandparents in today’s society and Mrs. Doubtfire’s response it worth taking to heart.

The plot of the movie is about Miranda played by Sally Field who is an interior designer and decides to divorce her husband Daniel because he is irresponsible. Being a working mother of three children she decides to hire a housekeeper and after interviewing many candidates she hires Mrs. Doubtfire who turns out to be her ex husband Daniel played by Robin Williams.

The reason that Daniel decided to create the persona that he was a lovely Scottish sixty year old woman who was seeking a position as a housekeeper was so that he could spend time with his children after to courts said that he could only see them on Saturdays. As time goes on Mrs. Doubtfire wins the hearts of Miranda and their children then Mirada discovers that Mrs. Doubtfire is her ex husband and agrees to allow him to see their children as much as he wants.

Mean while Daniels luck changes when he appears as Mrs. Doubtfire in a children’s television program called “Euphegenia House” and it becomes the top rated television show in that time slot.

One day while Mrs. Doubtfire is relaxing in an oversized wingback chair and she receives a letter written by a little girl named Katie and in the letter she asks Mrs. Doubtfire this question: Are we still a family?

Dear Mrs. Doubtfire,

Two months ago my mom and dad decided to separate and not live in the same house . My brother Andrew said we are not to be a family anymore. Is this true? Am I to lose my family? Is there anything I can do to bring them back together? Mrs. Doubtfire’s response is wonderful and one we should all take to heart.

Dear Katie Mc Komcick,

Some parents when they are angry get along better when they don’t live together sometimes they don’t get back together and sometimes they do. But don’t blame yourself just because they don’t love each other anymore it doesn’t mean they don’t love you and there are many different kinds of families.

What words of wisdom every child whose parents are separated or divorced needs to be told such kind words of wisdom and have a Mrs. Doubtfire type of women in their lives don’t they?

Isn’t it awesome that the Mrs. Doubtfire’s in our lives come in all kinds of shapes and sizes they may be your Grandmother, Aunt, Neighbor or a Teacher.

They are the ones that we hold close to our hearts because they unconditionally love us through thick and thin, they are our super hero‘s and we are super hero’s in their eyes too.

They may not be a relative but they are like having an Aunt, Mother, Grandmother and a Best Friend all rolled up in one woman. They are truly amazing aren’t they? They’re down to earth, smart, funny and a little zany.

They love us and our children unconditionally, they laugh and cry with us, they listen to our concerns about life and they tell us what they think instead of telling us what we want to hear. Some day you might be asked the question. Are we still a family? Although the answer may be no not a nuclear family make sure you reassure them that they still belong to a family and are loved. The relationship with your children is more important than the problems between the adults.