Learning to cope.

Although we are anticipating a short visit from daddy, I as a mother can't help but wonder how this will effect the kids. So thanks to some resources available to me on base, I decided to seek out a counselor. Today was our first meeting and it's hard to admit that you might need some help with your own child. I mean, I am the parent right? I should know how to help my kids cope with pain and anger right? Well thanks to a wonderful woman named Linda, I now know that I am not alone. That's why they have a whole program dedicated to that specific subject. I learned a lot of tricks to help her deal with the returning and departure of her daddy in such a short time. We as adults understand when we are feeling a certain emotion. When we are sad we cry, happy we laugh, angry we yell etc....Well for toddlers it isn't that easy. They cry without knowing why. It is our job to say " I can see that when your sissy takes your toy you feel mad right ?" That let's them know that I understand how they feel and I am teaching them their emotions at the same time. I learned an important tool today as a mother and that is to always validate their feelings. Even as adults we need to be validated. If I am mad at my husband over something silly I call my friends to make sure I am not over-reacting. We all look for approval somewhere. So if my daughter is feeling sad then it's for a good reason. Her feelings are not wrong! It's up to me to acknowledge it and talk her through it. I got to test out my new tool tonight when Sophie was upset that we had to end our Skype call. It worked like a charm. I am so thankful to have learned so much today. I know that this r and r won't be easy but I definitely feel a little more prepared. Bring it on daddy. We can't wait to see you!