Valentine's weekend

It's been an interesting weekend.  When we adopted, we were taught that children that have had trauma can have sudden flair ups of behavior - sometimes for seemingly no reason.  Well those are the times I remember that our kids are different - not bad, just different.  BudD started the weekend off from the time I picked them up from after school.  I tried to stop at the grocery store and he burst into tears and started a tantrum that didn't end until I finally put him to bed early.  Then today, Mr. T decided he would NOT be told what to do and threw a 10 year old version of a tantrum in a retail store - just picture a sit in.  But here is where I realized today that we have grown and become parents.  At no point did we allow ourselves to take that behavior personally - which helps us to have the patience necessary to wait these things out.  Shockingly, our youngest had a great weekend.  Parenting is an extreme sport - it is not easy and parenting hurt children can take its toll.  But I didn't mention the good parts of the weekend.....

Saturday we watched our 2 older boys play their first games - soccer and football.  It was surreal and I was very proud.  Then this afternoon (post tantrum and apology), we took the boys up to a park and hubby threw the football with them.  They laughed and ran and tumbled - it was perfect.  Sometimes I think back on all the things I have been through in my life - the pain, the hurts, the disappointments, frustrations and successes - and the need to forgive - and I think, all this time God was preparing me for my children, whose past hurts will continue to haunt them for some time, much like the physical scars they all bear.  But through perseverance, consistency and love, I am determined to teach them that same forgiveness and the ability to see life with new eyes.