During the holidays my adult children spend a few days with us. All enjoying time together. On one of those days, my granddaughter was getting fuzzy and it was time for her bottle. I quickly grabbed her to feed her. But my son-in-law quickly spoke up, “No, Daddy wants her!” As he realized how that sounded, he softened it with, “I have been gone all morning and missed her.”
I handed him the bib, burp cloth and baby. As I walked into the kitchen empty handed, I thought for a minute about my own feelings. Was I sad not to be feeding my granddaughter? No, I was actually smiling. What was I feeling? It took me a few minutes of reflection to realize I was proud. I was very proud.
My son-in-law spoke up! He used to quietly tell Ashley if he needed something and she would say, “Mike is getting hot can we turn down the heat?” She would tell him, he could speak up for himself. Over time he started to a little bit. But up until this point he had NEVER said, “No!” to me. I was not hurt, I was proud!
As Moms we may think we always know best. But having the Dad say, ‘No, it’s my turn,’ is exactly what our child (grandchild) needs.
