Learning from Moms

So much of mothering today is done in isolation. That is why I find it refreshing to enjoy time with other moms and learn from their child-rearing strategies. Mostly I learn about patience, which my homeschooling-mom friends seem to have in abundance and which, I am growing to believe, may just be the most essential ingredient of successful--and happy--parenting.

One homeschooling-mom friend of mine who appears to have boundless amounts of patience visited us for a few days at the lake this week with her kids. Patience is a trait that I do not naturally exude. I work at it constantly and deliberately, with varying degrees of success. But my friend who visited is innately calm and patient and it was enlightening to watch her interact with her kids and observe her various mothering tactics.

Back in my pre-motherhood corporate days, I discovered that the most surprising and rewarding aspect of professional services was how much I learned from my clients. These days, I am equally surprised and rewarded learning from my kids and my mom friends.