I mulled that over. I chewed on it. I thought about it.
It's true - we overuse the phrase "I'm proud of you".
It's true - we are a prideful people.
But I'm not about to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are times when I am proud of my children. Times when they should be proud of themselves. Times when they've worked hard to accomplish a goal and they've done so with excellence and/or with valiant effort.
I'm proud of Eden.
This weekend she performed her Suzuki Book 1 recital to an audience of family, neighbours, a church family and her teacher. It was a huge accomplishment. She played 10 pieces, in a row, from memory. She nailed it! And yes, I was proud of her. Heck, I probably beamed with pride.
Press play - you can hear it for yourself!
As she played the piano my mind wandered back down memory lane.
Seriously, wasn't she just scribbling in a coloring book and learning to read.
Isn't she the little girl who eats only mini-wheats and drinks only apple juice?
She can't be old enough to do solo piano recitals - can she?
You're right - she IS old enough. And I'm loving every minute of it. I love watching her grow up. I love spending hour upon hour with her as we learn together. She can grow up. I'll let her. I just want to relish every minute of it. And every once in a while I want to stroll down memory lane and remember the "good ole' days". I'm sure that in a few years I'll look back on this video and say, "Wow - where has the time gone!"
2 comments:
I think that if we define pride as "arrogant - having an exaggerated opinion of personal worth or abilities" it's not desirable. If we define pride as, "having a proper amount of self-respect," that is quite desirable - particularly in girls and women. I feel that with many women I know, they take no pride in their accomplishmens - always downplaying them or never feeling that they have done well enough. I want my kids to feel pleased with accomplishments they've worked hard at - just as I'd like them to feel pleased and happy for the accomplishments of others.
I loved watching and listening to Eden play - I felt proud - and a bit teary too!
I can't imagine growing up and never hearing my parents tell me they were proud of me, that I did something well, that they were pleased with the outcome. And when I screwed up they told me they were disappointed. You really can't have one without the other. And I can't imagine never saying to my child that I was proud of him. Pride is an emotion created by God and therefore in and of
itself cannot be bad. Just as anger can be justified and has a place in our lives so too does pride, but as Megan says, not arrogance.
At the end of each day of creation the bible says God looked at what he had done and said "It is good". That sounds to me like pride in a job well done.
~Heather
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