Mama Bear Cares for Her Heirs
My wife is very good at holding up the mirror to me and sometimes I don’t really like the result. I don’t mean the mirror we all use to fix ourselves up in the morning. It is that mirror that makes you look at your actions or reactions to situations or people. It is that mirror that makes you think twice before you speak words of hurt or disrespect. Not that I love to see this aging face in our bathroom mirror, but that is nothing compared to that mirror that makes me look at how I am as a father, husband or man.
This week, not only did my wife hold up the mirror to me to show me what real love for our kids looked like, she showed me what conviction and knowledge can lead to; real lasting results! We were recently forced into an uncomfortable situation with #3’s school, to no fault of his own, and it forced my wife to go somewhere we had never gone before and not somewhere we want to go back to any time soon. After several unanswered emails, we were at a stalemate and no end in sight. This is when Mama Bear came out and she advocated like nobody’s business!
She finally was able to schedule the meeting she had been asking for for over a month. She did her research, she had talked to the experts and one that came with her to the meeting. Originally I was not going to be at the meeting because of a scheduling conflict, but when the meeting was rescheduled, it fit perfectly into my schedule.
I had decided that my role was going to be one of observer and supporter. This was partly because she had worked her tail off doing research and having her facts together and partly because conflict is not my strong suit. I of course was ready to let Papa Bear come out if needed and didn’t really care who tried to hold up a mirror to me, I was going to protect my family.
Well, I should have known that she wouldn’t need Papa Bear that day as she took control of the meeting and went step by step through all our concerns and issues. It was because of her leadership, preparation and her use of resources that the meeting came to an equitable conclusion with everyone feeling that they were heard and the results certainly reflected that.
As I reflect on the meeting, it wasn’t what was said that was so striking to me but rather why it was all being said. My wife was ready to do whatever it took to support #3 and the time he had left in high school. She wasn’t worried about getting anyone upset, she didn’t care what people thought about her afterwards. She put our child first and that is what will always stick with me. After the meeting I called her a rock star but she is so much more than that for our family. She is the rock of our family; that solid foundation which keeps us all close and always striving to do our best. She is the star for our family. She is the one person that keeps us reaching higher to achieve our dreams and pushing us all harder to accomplish more than we think we are capable of. I am happy she keeps holding up a mirror to me and hopefully one day, my reflect will shine as brightly as hers.
