"I hope you have a child just like you someday." So goes the universal Mother's
Curse. An incantation often uttered at times of great frustration with offspring,
it is the only revenge mothers can feel truly justified about calling down on
their children.
When I first heard of the Mother's Curse as a teenager, I thought, "Hey, that
would be great. I hope I do have a child just like me some day. I'm not so bad.
Plus, then it would take all the guesswork out of parenting. I would know just
what to do with that child."
Yeah, go ahead and laugh.
I was my mother's first child. She and I are very different. We look different, we
express ourselves differently, and we see the world differently. Our approaches
to life's challenges are often diametrically opposed.
I know I was a complete mystery to her as I grew up. I am sure nothing I did
made sense, and I know she had to use her patient voice with me quite a lot.
Likewise, few things that she did made sense to me. Unable to see things from
her point of view until I matured into adulthood, I was angry about several
perceived injustices along the way.
Now, as I look at her from the lens of a fellow parent, I have more compassion
for her. There are still things that I really wish she had done differently, ways I
wish she had understood or supported me, but I accept her for who she is.
When my first child was born, a daughter, I was thrilled -- still am. Oh, I was
going to do for her that which had not been done for me. I would understand
her, I would give her the kind of emotional support I wish I had had. You know
the drill.
And really, I have done a pretty good job, I think.
However, now that she is growing into her own self (she is nine years old), I find
myself facing an uncomfortable truth. She is not like me.
She's a lot like … my mother.
I suppose this is the universe's way of balancing my arrogance. I am still fairly
certain I would handle a child like me with finesse and alacrity. So, of course, I
have to do something completely different.
I have to try to understand my daughter. I have to accept her for who she is. I
have to love her with the charity of God rather than the love of self -- of
narcissism.
It can be difficult to see our children as fellow children of God, rather than
something we have produced and therefore have the right to claim.
Thinking of our children as extensions of ourselves instead of who they are can
be extremely destructive to our relationship with them, and to their overall
development. Thinking of them as a reflection of ourselves seems like a selfish
way to view them.
When our children make mistakes, do we take it personally -- as a judgment
that we have failed? Or do we recognize they are their own persons with the
right to learn and grow from their mistakes?
Yes, it is our job to train them, guide them, teach them, to be an example. But
at some point, we have to recognize they will do what they will do. They will go
out for softball, not for soccer, which we excelled at in high school. They will
learn the flute, not the trumpet like us.
Or, maybe, they will learn the flute instead of playing soccer! They will be a
vegetarian and totally reject our Saturday BBQ tradition. They may even decide
the Church is not for them.
Though my mother and I are very different, I appreciate that she let me be
different from her. I may have surprised and even baffled her at times, but in
the end I owe a great deal of my life's success to her because she let me be me.
That seems more like a mother's blessing than a mother's curse.
Emily
Jorgensen received her bachelor's degree in piano performance from
Brigham Young University. She earned her master's degree in
elementary music education, also at BYU. She holds a Kodaly
certificate in choral education, as well as permanent certification
in piano from Music Teacher’s National Association.
She
has taught piano, solfege, and children’s music classes for 17
years in her own studio. She has also taught group piano classes at
BYU.
She
is an active adjudicator throughout the Wasatch Front and has served
in local, regional, and state positions Utah Music Teachers'
Association, as well as the Inspirations arts contest chair at
Freedom Academy.
She
gets a lot of her inspiration for her column by parenting her own
rambunctious four children, aged from “in diapers” to
“into Harry Potter.” She is still married to her high
school sweetheart and serves in her ward’s Primary.