Value of the Month Update

How’s your month going? Let’s share some ideas….

Hi Ladies.  My name is Mary Croxford.  My daughter, Megan (who has kids of her own) and I are the new Power of Moms Value of the Month managers and I’m excited for this challenge to really get into the values with my own family and share my thoughts and ideas with you.

This month’s value, Kindness and Friendliness, has been an especially great focus for me. I have 7 children and 4 of them are 4 yrs and under. Right after my twin boys were born our daughter came along not quite a year later with another daughter almost two years after that. My life changed dramatically as I had to eliminate almost everything else I was involved with at the time and turn all my focus on babies! As I cleaned up mess after mess after mess, my soul was nourished by their constant smiles, sticky hugs and kisses, and I’m already asking myself where the time has gone?

My children are capable of doing so much more than even a year ago and my idea to hibernate and stay home as much as possible at that time has dissipated and we love to get out! So…with the value of kindness and friendliness as our focus this month, has given us a focus outside of ourselves as we turn to others and look for ways to help, even in the seemingly small ways. We have talked about ways we can extend kindness, at a grocery store by putting the cart back or helping someone with the door or picking up something for someone that they have dropped. Or simply by smiling at others! Amazing what a smile can do for someone.

Manners! We are focusing more on manners as a way of expressing kindness. Using our kind words like “thank you, excuse me, please, etc.” (we have gotten in the bad habit of interrupting lately so this has really helped with that) A cute book to get your children talking about manners is “The Berenstein Bears Forget Their Manners”.

You know what I am noticing as I am focusing more on values each month again, is the idea that I set out to teach my children and yet I am the one that is probably benefiting the most. As I have been practicing the value this month (thinking that I will be setting a good example to my children) I have noticed the great feelings I am getting inside myself when I am being kind, focusing on others in driving, neighborhood etc. I am feeling a more calm, happy and peaceful feeling and therefore it has been easier for me to have more patience with my kiddos lately. Has anyone else experienced this? So…that’s another thing we talked about this morning with our children. There are special feelings that we get from being kind and friendly even though our main purpose is really about showing kindness to others. we still get those kinds of feelings as a direct result of what we are doing.

One last thought today. I had a cute babysitter years ago who shared this with me. She was a great dancer and had a teacher who was very good at teaching but was also very impatient and grumpy. My babysitter who I will call Jenny, was a sensitive girl and got to the point where she wasn’t sure if she wanted to take dance from this woman anymore although she knew that her long term goals with dance would be benefitted by sticking it out with this teacher. Her mother listened to her dilemma and then instead of bashing the teacher because she had certainly been aware of the teacher’s personality, with love and compassion shared an idea she had with Jenny. They decided to “kill her (the teacher) with kindness” No matter how grouchy the teacher was, Jenny and her mother would still show kindness. Over the next few months, great efforts were made and as a result, the teacher became kinder, but most importantly a beloved and dear friend to Jenny and her family. Over the years, we have had experiences in our family when we have encountered people who’s personalities have been less than ideal. During those times we have adopted Jenny’s motto to “kill them with kindness” and we have never been disappointed with the results yet.

Please add your comments and ideas on “Kindess and Friendliness” in the comments section below.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you! Have a great week! ;o)   

Hugs to all, Mary