Welcome to our “Spotlight on a Mean Mom”! Each Monday you’ll meet someone new!
Has your child ever said you were mean? If this is your first time here you need to know something–what a child defines as mean… a mom defines a little differently.
Remember, the word mean isn’t always the mean they think it means.
The Mean Mom’s Guide to Raising Kids will be available March 2015.
I had some help from some very special ladies while working on this book over the summer. LOTS of mean moms and marshmallow moms raised their hand to be a part of The Mean Mom Team, a focus group I pulled together on Facebook. (If you’d like to join just click on “The Mean Mom Team“. We’d LOVE to have you!)
Their wisdom was incredibly helpful.
Would you please say howdy to our Mean Mama — Ann Goade
Ann, tell us a little about yourself!
I live in Anna, TX with my husband of 18 years, William. We have three children. Lawrence is 15, Rachel is 13 and Gracie is 11.
Are you a “mean mom” or a “marshmallow mom”?
I’m definitely a mean mom. Many years ago, I read a poem by Bobbie Pingaro. The Meanest Mother. When my children say I’m mean, I figure I must be doing it right.
Share a recent “mean mom” moment with us.
Not long ago, my daughter wanted to see a movie with her friends that I (and her daddy) thought was inappropriate. When she told her friends she couldn’t see it, they went anyway without her. It was very hard to see her upset, especially when her friends excluded her by not going to see something else. But, I know we made the right choice even though it wasn’t the most popular one.
Is there a bit of “mean mom” wisdom you can give?
Be ready to follow through with consequences. Even if it means more work for you or interrupts something you’ve got going on. Mean what you say and follow through with it, NO MATTER WHAT!
Being a mom has definitely changed the way I look at God. Once I became a mom, I got a small glimpse of how God sees me. He cherishes me, loves me and delights in me just the way I cherish, love and delight in my own children.
My favorite verse ever for mothering and life in general is Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
I continually remind myself that the best gift I can give my children is a good marriage between their parents. In the busyness of life, it’s not an easy task to make time just for the two of us, but we do as much as we can. And, when my children beg to go to dinner with us, I tell them that their Daddy is the one who will be here when they are all gone and we want to still like each other.
Thanks SO MUCH for sharing with us, Ann! Here’s a little something you may not know about our “mean mom” of the week…she is the creator of a phone app to help children learn to listen during the worship service. Learn more at http://www.bigchurchbingo.com .
Guess what? Our very own Ann has a blog of her very own, too. Head over and follow her at http://www.anngoade.wordpress.com .
Thanks for sharing, Ann!