Dads, Moms and Children

Before I put this Leman book on the shelf, I want to make several more comments. Leman points out that Dads and Moms view their children differently. Moms view children as an extension of themselves. Leman states, "To a woman, when a man spends time with their children, he's spending time with her, because children are an extension of their mother." That means when her husband loves their children and spends quality time with them, she feels as if he is loving her too.

Dads have a different view of the children. Dads don't emotionally connect them to their mother. Dads see them as separate entities that sometimes compete with him for Mom's attention. Leman uses humor to make his point. He says, "Children can be pesty little buggers sometimes, and they can really get in the way of marital intimacy."

The point that Dr. Leman makes is that we must realize the role children play in Dad's life is different from the role they play in Mom's life. He goes on to say, "The day is coming that the kids will be gone. But your husband will remain. Don't lose your place in his heart."

Have a great day, Robin

"My mother was my champion." Part 2

Below are some more quotes from Dr. Leman's book, 7 Things He'll Never Tell You.

"I loved my mother and she clearly loved me. In the midst of hard work, she would take time to go fishing with me. When I was 5 or 6 years old, we would walk to the creek and catch fish. She would celebrate each of my catches as if it were the most spectacular catch anyone had ever made! My little-boy heart would swell with pride. Perhaps my mother already knew then that I would struggle academically and that I would need this kind of boost early in life to be a success at anything.

I was always close to my mother when I was growing up. I could talk to my mother about anything-including girls and sex. My mother was always a straight talker. I knew she loved me. And, no matter what others said, she believed and expected the best of me."

As Dr. Leman tells of his mom, the recurring theme is unconditional love. She loved him and she was his biggest fan - his loudest cheerleader. This was paramount to the success of a young man who felt as if he was a failure in the world's eyes.

Have a great week and go fishing, Robin

"My mother was my champion."

As moms, we have a lot of influence. Here's the story of a mom who used her influence to change her son's life.

This week I read my first book by Dr. Kevin Leman. Dr. Leman has written many books covering various aspects of family life. In this book, he tells of his childhood. He says he was a failure, He struggled in school. He states that he was "dumber than mud." He had numerous failing grades in high school.He was thrown out of college. He later returned only to "flunk out" several times. Today Dr. Leman is an internationally known psychologist and author. What happened?

He says in his book, "...I credit my success to my mother. She, of all people, was the person who believed in me all along the way. And that gave me the firepower for success in my adult life. It gave me the confidence to discover what I was good at."

Dr. Leman's mom did not have an easy life. She had to go to work full time to help make ends meet. He was a latchkey kid. Dr. Leman goes on to say, "Throughout my childhood, my mother was my champion. Even when, in the world's eyes, I was a failure..."

More about this incredible mom in the next blog -

Have a great day, Robin

Bringing History to Life

Listed below are some things that we did to instill a sense of patriotism in our boys and bring history to life.
We displayed an American flag on a wall in our home.
We saved newspapers that recorded history making events. One of our sons collects newspapers on these days. He saved several newspapers from 9/11. We matted and framed the front page. By the way,be sure to purchase newspapers the day after the upcoming election for it will be a history making day.
Determine if there are any current or past family members who served in our Armed Forces. Then locate pictures of them in their military uniforms. Enlarge those pics to 8x10's. Frame and display them on the wall around the American flag.

We did this in one of our boys room. We have a picture of his grandfather in his navy uniform taken about 50 years ago. We also have a picture of his great-grandfather taken in his army uniform. This picture was taken around 1945 when he went to Japan to help with clean up after WWII. Visiting our son's room is like visiting a small museum. It instills a sense of pride in our family as well as loyalty to our country.

Have a great day, Robin