Family Motto

Our family motto

Last month, seems like only yesteday (ok it was still April yesterday – how time flies!), I featured Cat from Juggling Act of Life in April Featured Blog. Being paired up with Cat in our SA Mom Blogs group has been a great experience for me and I’ve learnt a great deal from her. I especially appreciated an email from her one day when she gave me an awesome tip about adding media to my posts and pointed me in the right direction. I love experiences shared and am always open to learning from others and making the necessary improvements/adjustments if and where need be. Thank you Cat 🙂

Reading her post The Day My Boys Had Me Speechless – And Extremely Proud had me thinking about motto’s in general as well as my own family motto. What stood out for me most is when she said “For us it is always about trying, and trying your best. Not winning.”

It also got me thinking how schools and organizations have it too. My primary school’s motto was “Facta Non Verba” meaning “Deeds, Not Words” while my high school motto was “Vitae Discimus” which means “We Learn For Life”. You’d think I’m a cheat because my kids attend the same primary school so I would still know it but it’s one of those things that you remember for life. I happen to still know the school anthem (word for word too) yet I sometimes forget things I did yesterday. As I’m a firm believer that we’re never too old to learn, my high school motto is one I tell me kids a lot.

It’s no secret that I love my family but life does not always run like a well oiled machine in Jonkersville. We argue, fuss and fight at times. There are times when I honestly feel like throwing in the towel because the kids won’t listen (blame it on selective hearing) or conveniently forget to do a chore. The problem with throwing in the towel is that it leads to more washing and I have enough loads to do as it is. I’m often thrust into the referee role during fights, which I refuse to do because sibling rivalry is part of growing up and I don’t want to be accused of favouritism. What I have done is lay down some rules which I call our family motto of which love and respect are the two most important. Throw in discipline and consistency (parents, kids crave consistency) and you’ll be well on your way to some better days. Thus far it’s been the success to our family dynamic.

If you have a kid you’ll know how difficult it can be to teach kids about healthy competitions, especially how everything in life is not about winning. As adults we know that it’s not about winning (at least most of us does) but to a kid it can be a very sensitive issue. A heart wrenching feeling of failure. I’ve had to dry tears and give lots of hugs followed by (sometimes) lengthy lectures about losing. Somewhere along the line I think I may have gotten the point (being that “It’s better to have tried and lost than to never had tried at all) across as K3 seem to understand that they won’t win at everything. Or maybe it can be written down to the fact that they’d rather act “OK” and be spared a lecture. Whatever it is, I’m happy that they have adopted the “Even though we lost, we did so with pride” attitudes. Don’t you just think they’re just wise beyond their years?

With all this said, I’m proud to say that in our family we do real, we do mistakes, we do fun, we do second chances (sometimes as much as ten), we do hugs, we do forgiveness and we do love. I think making a wall hanging like the image illustrated should be one of my future DIY projects. Hmmm… DIY Diva in the making.

Another awesome post from Cat is We Hit Jackpot. She takes the most beautiful pictures and I could imagine myself in the wild. Although I don’t think I’ll get there anytime soon, I’ll live vicariously through her images.

What are your family motto’s and what works for your family?

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