The mamas at Home of Love are at a training this week, so during the day, older teens have been brought in to watch the children. The first day, half of the teens slept under a tree and the other half looked bewildered as the younger children ran wild. Today, over the course of a LONG day, I noticed a change in them.
Most of my time is still spent hanging back so that I can observe what is done culturally, what is appropriate, and learn how to behave myself. When it comes to children, it's difficult for me to allow some things to pass. So, through many discussion with Lucy, the matron of Home of Love, she has given me full reign to parent the children at Home of Love as if they were my own. Well, I don't take it that far (yet), BUT, I was certainly stepping in today.
Breaking up fights... lots of fights.
Talking to children about not fighting, hitting, or kicking each other.
Hugging, snuggling, kissing the crying ones... wiping those tears away.
Trying to figure out WHY a child is crying.
These are all things that are not routinely done by the mamas, so the teens have not seen this type of mothering modeled for the most part. Through the course of time with me, two of the girls started doing similar things and I was so proud of the maturity that they showed. They could have ignored it and let the kids fend for themselves. They could have yelled harshly. But I saw them tenderly hold a crying child, take a fighting one aside to talk to, and demonstrate in several other ways that they had a tender love for the children instead of a duty to keep them from killing each other.
I am, by NO STRETCH of the imagination, a perfect mother. But I do shower my children (and others!) with affection and expect obedience, respect, trust, honesty, and joyful hearts from my children. It will be interesting to see what happens at Home of Love as parenting is modeled by us and by families that are joining our team in the next year!
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