WARNING: Doesn't Play Well With Others

Recently, it has come to my attention that certain of my "friends" believe that I am not a good parent. Then, this was solidified by my ever-wonderful secretary who told me that I am "ruining" my son....sigh.

That's ok. My child is happy, healthy and loved without measure, and that really is all that matters at the end of the day.

While my parenting style is not a mirror image to these two "friends", and certainly not that of my secretary, it is not exactly non-existent. So let's break it down:

I do not think my child is a burden. My life did not end when he was born, it began. I do not lament his lack of skills, talents and/or attributes. He is who he was meant to be, and will become who he is meant to become in due time. My job as a parent is to help him become that man someday.

I include my kid in all I do...vacations, cooking, play etc... He is a part of my life, and should experience those things that I enjoy.

I allow my scared and nervous little boy to sleep with me. Yep. He's 7, and he isn't ready to sleep alone in his room. Given the past 2 years that he has had, I don't blame him. He is fully capable of sleeping alone. He does so when he feels like it. He goes away to sleep at friends' homes, relatives' homes and the like. He even wants to go to sleep away camp. But, at home? He wants to be near me so that when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he can quickly figure out that I have not abandoned him, as he is wont to fear. I am most certainly NOT ruining him by allowing him to choose when and if he wants to sleep alone in my big scary house. Kids in certain asian countries sleep with their parents well into adulthood...because they all sleep in ONE ROOM! Geez....

When my kid wants a toy or a game or a book or a certain meal, he usually gets it. Over indulgence? Most certainly. I am able to provide a calm and loving and giving environment for my son. In turn, he is often found giving to others of his time, his things, his love and attention. I don't make him give to others, he does so because he wants to do so.

My son is a good-natured child. People want to be around him. I don't leave him behind when I travel (usually). I don't ditch him with friends so I can go out without him (usually). I don't try to escape him. I share him with others. :)

Don't get me wrong, he doesn't rule the roost. I am the boss. I say what we do and when. I say what we watch and when. I determine what we will eat, and usually what he will wear. I allow his input, and I even allow him to think that he is making decisions on some things, but I am the boss.

Our schedules don't revolve around his, they revolve around mine. Our lives don't revolve around his likes and dislikes, they revolve around mine. However, I am not opposed to getting ice cream for dinner for the hell of it, or eating brownies for breakfast, so there is that.

I don't seek sympathy for his problems or my inability to handle them. I don't compare my child to myself. I don't publicly wonder whether he isn't smart enough, tall enough, handsome enough. I don't worry that he isn't eating the right balance of vitamin A to vitamin K...I figure it will all work out fine and as it should..also, we can't all be me ;) hahaha!

I don't force feed my kid foods he doesn't enjoy and then bitch when he doesn't enjoy them. I don't mind if he plays in the mud, or plays with dolls.

Life is too fleeting to worry about whether or not he is going to ruin the suit I got him for Easter while riding his bike with no hands. I can buy another suit.

I don't mind helping him dye his hair green on green day at school, and I don't mind allowing him to pick out clothes that Tony Hawk or Shaun White affix their names to, because he aspires to shred, skate or fly like they do (as long as he wears something appropriate to church).

I don't discourage his current desire to become a deep-sea diving heart surgeon who studies giant squid and sharks. The boy has an imagination - and who says he can't do both? I don't shoo him off to another room when I listen to my music, or watch my shows. I don't try avoid an explanation of life's questions to him....although I've been known to quote Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman and/or the Big Lebowski to aid in such explanations.

I don't talk down to him because he is a child. I speak to him as I'd expect anyone to speak to me.

I am his mother. I come with flaws. But, I love like nobody's business, and I can guarantee others don't love like me.

So no, I don't play well with others. I don't color within the lines or think within the box. I don't try to stear my child into my expectations, but rather I allow him to shape my expectations by what he is and who he is. I live. I live well, and I love. That...that should say something about my parenting skills. More than anything, however, I have a relatively happy, healthy and well-rounded child of whom I think the world. Those who think otherwise can piss off. ;)