We never stop learning. Never. Even a 99-year-old who has seen it all and done it all can still learn. Not just textbook learning stuff — life stuff. Real life crazy daisy big time importante stuffs. For reals. Some of the most beautiful kind of learning is about making mistakes, accepting that mistake, and learning from it. And holy popsicle sticks, that is awesometown when it happens. But the thing is, we all have one majorly major problem here … and that’s too many of us cannot admit our mistakes.
I’ve messed up before. Like totally stinkered it up to the tenth power messed up. But crap, I can’t go back in time, right? So I learned from it. Okay, let’s see … example, example … okay yeah, I’ve talked about this before but it was a big-time learning experience and here goes.
In a total short fuse moment before I had kids, I threw my cat across the room because he kept jumping on the stove while I was cooking. He ended up fine, but NOT COOL, NOT SMART, TERRIBLE. This falls into the I totally sucked as a fur mommy at that moment and it was an awful thing that I wish I never ever did and felt horrible the split second after it happened. But in the moment I was a total ass and totally out of control mad. So I learned what was at the root of my short temper, learned how to better myself and find a way to be calmer, and I’m thankful to say that I’ve never done that again, nor have I tried to kill my husband with a Brita pitcher ever again after THAT bright moment in my past.
I also — deep breath — used JJ Cole Bundle Mes with my car seats while the car seats were in the car. But Christie gave me a good schooling and I’ve never done that again, and have since learned so much about car seat safety that I’d like to consider myself an amateur expert-in-the-early-stages-of-training.
Could I have told Christie to go poop in a hat and wear it when she told me about how unsafe that was? Yes, yes of course I could have. And plenty of people have that exact reaction because they can’t stand being wrong. Which is fine — I like to be right all the time, too. But a little nibble of a humble cookie tastes really, really good and does good too. She wasn’t telling me to be a know-it-all or to point out my mistakes and make me feel like a giant hemorrhoid, nope not at all. She was telling me so my kids would be safer in their car seats. And honestly I’d rather have a hemorrhoid 300 days out of the year than to have something bad happen to my kids.
So … basically … let’s all accept advice from others with a smile. This goes for everything — crying it out, car seats, spanking, eating, sleeping, walking, milestones of all sorts, driving, anger management, whatever. Sure, we may not all always agree, but there is always something to learn. So yeah, happy time! Let’s all learn from each other — because we all do have things to learn just as we all do have things to teach.
Collective Daily Momtra hug … all together now … ooooooohhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm.
Photo by me — that’s my Bunny, learning the map of the zoo.
Twitter: RanaAurora
says:
Poop in a hat and wear it? LMAO!
Seriously though, I always think how different my life (and yours too) would be if we’d decided to defend mistakes rather than learn.
Rowan wouldn’t have been breastfed long, probably would have choked to death on a hot dog… I mean seriously, things I did in the past are SCARY now that I know better, and ignorance may be bliss, but only until something bad happens!
Mucho love for you. I try to always take advice with a smile AND am working very hard on giving it that way too!
I chose not to tell Christie to poop in a hat and wear it too when I learned from her that those bundle me car seat things weren’t safe. Instead, I learned from my mistake and got one that fits over the top of the car seat (like a shower cap) when my next winter baby was born.