Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have this once in a while but it sounds like you are having it more often. Is it detracting from your ability to be present as a parent?
op - haha no.
I don't get why that was a funny question?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have this once in a while but it sounds like you are having it more often. Is it detracting from your ability to be present as a parent?
op - haha no.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes, sometimes. I've always been an emotionally available person, but there's a specific thing that happens with my kids where I will find myself tearing up in conversation and it's not immediately even clear why.
One that always gets me is when my kid has a teacher or coach who seems to genuinely care about them. On many occasions, I've felt my eyes start to well up in conversations with a teacher who is saying something kind or insightful about my child, or just demonstrating real affection for them. Something about another adult really seeing and investing in my kid is so incredibly touching to me. Maybe it's because we don't have supportive family and our own parents/siblings don't do this? So I'm just so touched by anyone who does. I really have to work to control it because I don't want to freak out these lovely teachers and coaches by randomly crying when they say they were proud of my kid's hustle in practice today, or that they were laughing hard at something funny they said in class. I just feel this very, very deeply.
Same here—I have very low expectations given my family of origin, and DH’s are biased towards their grandchildren of a different sex.
The DCs recently switched to a different sports club and it was amazing that the coaches there actually care to make sure they’re doing the move correctly. And some teachers, kind strangers, and a relative of DH are also always in my heart.
RE: being teary—my DCs are 8 and 10 as well and I often feel this way at a big culmination of something that took a large amount of effort.
Anonymous wrote:I often find myself getting emotional and teary eyed about oftentimes some unexpected (and kind of embarrassing) kid related things. My kids are 8 and 10 and numerous times I have found myself tearing up at their school (parent nights, first days, last days, performances), at camp (first and last days but also even like - reading about the camp!). Do other parents experience this?? I cannot work out why it is that I feel this way other than maybe a constant existential crisis.
Anonymous wrote:Yes, sometimes. I've always been an emotionally available person, but there's a specific thing that happens with my kids where I will find myself tearing up in conversation and it's not immediately even clear why.
One that always gets me is when my kid has a teacher or coach who seems to genuinely care about them. On many occasions, I've felt my eyes start to well up in conversations with a teacher who is saying something kind or insightful about my child, or just demonstrating real affection for them. Something about another adult really seeing and investing in my kid is so incredibly touching to me. Maybe it's because we don't have supportive family and our own parents/siblings don't do this? So I'm just so touched by anyone who does. I really have to work to control it because I don't want to freak out these lovely teachers and coaches by randomly crying when they say they were proud of my kid's hustle in practice today, or that they were laughing hard at something funny they said in class. I just feel this very, very deeply.
Anonymous wrote:Not at all. But I notice a lot of parents seem enmeshed with their kids in a way that I'm not. Like parents will say "We go to private school." No, your KIDS go to private school. Or "we're in soccer and swim." No, THEY are. I think those are the parents more likely to absorb everything their kids go through as if they're going through it, and they confuse that with caring.
Anonymous wrote:I have this once in a while but it sounds like you are having it more often. Is it detracting from your ability to be present as a parent?