Week 140
Positive post Sunday, October 20, 2019- Week 140.
This week I decided to write about parenting. Yes, this is a very broad subject with many experts and endless literature available to research, but I chose a different path. Feeling somewhat empowered as a child, parent of 5 and grandparent of 11 (so far!), I thought I would share my perspective on parenting. Before I start, I want to acknowledge my wife Michele who has been my parenting mentor and my parents Dana and Ken Rendler who have been my role models. All three of them have made significant personal sacrifices to place the needs of their children and grandchildren ahead of their own needs. They have also taught me the value of faith based parenting.
One way to define parenting is by using ABC’s 1978 Wide World of Sports introduction, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. That sounds like the title of a good book! For those younger facebookers, this was played at the beginning of every broadcast. Here’s the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2AZH4FeGsc. You will note that the video also references “Human drama”. Although the video focused on athletes, human drama is often a part of parenting!
During my tour of parenting and grandparenting to date, I have certainly experienced a great deal of the thrill of victory and my fair share of the agony of defeat. Although the challenges of parenting can be significant, it’s my humble opinion that the thrill of the victories clearly outweigh the agony of the defeats. We have deep influence on our children and grandchildren even when we thought they were not looking and especially when we navigate through the victories and defeats in our lives.
Just like world class athletes aspiring to be in the Olympics, most parents experience some level of defeat, or challenge, while raising their children. I have yet to meet a parent (or family) without challenges, including myself. All us parents face obstacles during our parenting journeys, some from the moment our children take their first breath (something we should never take for granted). God bless those parents who have experiences the death of a newborn child. May they be comforted knowing that that they have a little Angel looking down on them from Heaven.
It’s my belief that how we manage the challenges we face as parents, will not only define us as parents, but as shepherds of God’s children. I don’t claim to be an expert on parenting, and my children Heather , Stacy, Jeffrey, Alison, and Kristy would certainly agree. However, I have done my very best to raise my children, and now grandchildren to live their lives with faith as their foundation and all the members of our entire family as the pillars that keep their homes strong. After all, we all live at God’s will and never know when our faith will be tested with a crisis. I’m so blessed to have an amazing family who has pulled together on many occasions to work through the agonies of defeat we have experienced.
Just as I did above, we as parents tend to focus on the agony of defeat and fail to recognize and celebrate the thrills of victory, especially the small ones that often get overlooked. So, let me share my greatest victories, my children and grandchildren and all their accomplishments, big and small. Along with my wife Michele, they are my greatest source of pride and they will someday be the legacy we leave behind. (there’s your shout out Alison Buoye!).
Our children and grandchildren watch us even when we don’t think they are looking, and they will grow up celebrating the thrills of victory and managing the agonies of defeat as they see us do. How have you experienced the thrills of victory in parenting and celebrated? How have you dealt with the agonies of defeat and learned from them?