My kids will tell you that my favorite thing to say to them is “Are you even listening to me?”

I feel like I’m either 1. not speaking loud enough, or 2. going crazy with how often I repeat myself. 

AsthmaMan said “Mom, I think you like to hear yourself talk.”

That may be true, but I don’t think that’s why I’m constantly saying things like: “lean over the table”, “people aren’t napkins” “STOP YELLING!”, and “wipe, wash, flush- do NOT forget any of those steps”.

It’s maddening.

But every once in awhile my kids will show that they were listening and totally surprise me.

Like jaw on the floor surprise me.

Harry Potter came home from school with his personal goals written out, and I was stunned.

He listened!

Like really really listened, thought about what we said, and made plans for improvement.

His goals were:

School: Learn to write in cursive. He really wants to learn to write in cursive.

Home: I want to be less needy. This one proves what terrible parents we are, the fact that he knows that phrase alone is a bad sign. Harry Potter has the habit of needing something (usually something very insignificant) when one of his siblings has an urgent issue… like throwing up, getting their diaper changed, or bleeding.

Wellness: I want to be better at personal hygiene. Staying clean is something that Harry Potter really struggles with. We’ve talked extensively about how this is the year we keep ourselves clean… I assumed he hadn’t heard a word I’d said… I assumed wrong.

Personal: I want to earn more money by doing my chores. Awesome… that’s all I can say.

So… maybe my kids deserve more credit than I give them.

Maybe they are listening to what I say.

This is both a huge relief and terrifying at the same time.

If they’re finally listening to what I’m saying, I need to make sure that what I’m saying is uplifting, true, and what I want stuck in their little heads.

So I guess my 2018 goal is to make sure that what I say is great. I want to make sure they know we’re always on their team, always pushing them to be better, and that we only tell them the truth.

2018 is looking like an awesome year!