It's hard to think of one thing that as a child gave my self esteem a boost. I can think of many things that looking back as an adult I think my parents made conscious decisions to "point out" or do in order to boost my self esteem and my siblings self esteems as well. It may also have come naturally to do what they did but I can hardly imagine having 5 kids to make feel special, yet they did it, so I am thinking it had to have been something they really worked hard at.
Some of the things that come to mind are:
1. My folks were my number one fans growing up. I did a lot of theater growing up. My parents did everything they could in order to never miss a show I was in. They worked the box office selling tickets, were ushers, and my dad spent countless hours building amazing sets. They let me know I was important to them, that I was worth the time and effort and even cheered the loudest.
2. They boosted my self confidence by "hearing me out". There were rules growing up and they had their reasons for those rules. However, they were always open to my ideas on how things could be done differently. This is not to say everything was negotiable, it wasn't, but I felt valued and listened to. I think this helped me later on in business. I never felt like I couldn't speak up in a board meeting and suggest a different view on any given topic. A lot of times things changed because I spoke up.
3. I think I have always had a pretty good self image. I mean I may not be perfect but parts of me are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!! I know it's because my parents never passed an opportunity to tell me how beautiful I was.
4. I learned how to take a joke, tell a joke and be the joke. In my family humor was a part of life. Being able to see the humor in ALL things makes life a whole lot easier!
I have most def taken several pages from my parents book. I know what I valued as a child and I want to make sure my daughter has that. She knows she is special. I don't want her to ever think poorly of herself. I want her to KNOW that she can do anything she sets her mind to and also KNOW that I am going to support her ALL THE WAY!
11 Dandelion Wishes Made:
Love everything you said.
My daughter's first week of school this year, she had to write on a topic which was "The most important thing to me is..." and when we went to school for back to school night I saw it on the wall.
It said "The most important thing to me is that I know I am loved no matter what."
I love that girl!
What a wonderful post!! I love that you have such incredibly supportive parents that have made you who you are today!! You are one amazing mother and J is so very fortunate and blessed to have you! You are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!
This is really a great post. How wonderful for you parents to be so supportive and willing to listen to your opinion as a child. I hope that I will be able to do the same for my son when he is old enough to express himself.
Such a wonderful post, bless you.
you really do write great posts!!!!
What great self-esteem builders! Your parents sound like great people! I bet they'll be fabulous missionaries!
What a lovely post - it really sounds like you had great parents and a great childhood - thanks for sharing your memories with us!!
I'm glad you've had some good in your life. So many people don't get those caring parents etc. I also had that and consider myself very lucky!
Oh man, the best thing about having mom and dad visit is being emotionally "validated" 24/7. They were so quick to tell us how great we were as kids. I hope to do the same for mine. I'm so glad I can handle being the butt of a joke once in a while. I'm also glad that it's usually dad or amy that is the butt of the joke MOST of the while...
j/k amy..sort of!
I am so grateful for awesome parents, who came to choir concert after choir concert, and let me bring boys over (even one's they didn't like), always had a freezer FULL of ice cream, and never gave me a curfew because they trusted I'd home when I should.
What a great tribute to your parents! That does explain a lot in seeing how and why you and J have such a good relationship. You are truly blessed!
OK, I feel so refreshed after reading your post! A big round of applause to your parents!! That's so encouraging to hear that their constant efforts to make you feel good lasted a lifetime for you! I hope to be that kind of parent to my little one. :-)
Thank you so much for participating again! So sorry that I'm just now getting to your post...I have the stomach bug. So much fun! lol I'm trying to think of another topic for the next SES. Let me know if you have any ideas.
Oh and I hate it when blogger does that!
~melody~
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