I had the absolute pleasure of looking after my nieces and nephew last night. They had a sleep over so that my brother and his wife could have some quality time on their 10th wedding anniversary.
I am not a natural mother by any stretch, so the thought of looking after a total of five children as previously filled me with dread and trepidation. I would never had said "no" if asked, but inside I would have been nervous and anxious about my ability to cope. As my children get older and I get a little wiser (cough!) I know that I can look after five children especially since they are family.
It is wonderful for me to get time with my nieces and nephew so as to build a relationship with them which, I am sure, will benefit all of us as time goes on. It is also so very wonderful for my children to get time with their cousins. My parents were immigrants to Australia so we have no family here other than us and as a result, I have no idea what it would be like to have a clutter of cousins to play with and just hang out. It looks like fun.
Enough background. My important learning this time around is that mothering children as a herd works so much better than the individual parenting that I usually do with my two children. Well, I already knew that, but this time around I paid attention to my emotional state and how it differed from other days and why.
I certainly was less frustrated because I didn't "sweat the small stuff". I found that I was much calmer as a result and the bigger stuff wasn't such an issue because I wasn't already at number 5 on the way to number 1 (that would be blast off). The change in perspective was intriguing. I couldn't afford to be affected by the (now) little stuff because that wouldn't do me any good. Amazing how you can know that when in the situation but not able to execute it when the pressure isn't on you.
And the children certainly worked a lot more out amongst themselves just because they could. If they were upset with one person there was always someone else. They amazingly played together for a long time and even cleaned out the cubbie which took quite some time and a huge coordinated effort. I was very impressed.
Reflecting on it, life is suffering. Both for me as a mother with the children not doing things the way I might have liked but letting that go in favour of dealing with larger issues. And then for the children, as they might not have liked what was happening in their play and dealing with it. Great that they can experience that in a 'safe' environment such as the extended family unit. Brilliant all 'round. What a fantastic 24 hours.
