Working Towards Unemployment

My job as a parent is to work myself out of a job.

That's an excellent piece of parenting advice. I credit it to a writing friend, Brenda Nixon . Brenda offers Daily Discipline Tips, a weekly e-mail newsletter. Several months ago, she sent out one titled "My General Parenting Philosophy." Here's one thing she said:

In your daily discipline, ask yourself if your teaching also includes
lessons on self-reliance so your kids will one day be able to get on in life without you. They can be butterflies, but the cocoon has got to go.

As I read what Brenda had written, I nodded in agreement.

Sure, once a mom, always a mom. I'll always turn and look when a little child yells, "Mom!" in the grocery store.

But I don't want my children to always be little kids. I want them to grow up and be adults. I want them to have their own lives--and to pursue their own dreams.

Yes, I want to work myself out of a job. I hope my kids hear me cheering them on, telling them to live their lives out loud. I also hope they know they are always welcome back home. No advance notice required. But at some point I realize they'll all be visiting.

Gulp.

Truth be told, with the blessing of my late-in-life child, I'll be employed for a few more years!