I experienced an intense level of joy (6 out of 5) today when Elliott blew her first bubble gum, which was caught on camera
I was so proud of her and felt even more proud of her response to my joyful reaction: “I feel proud of myself”
About 4 weeks ago, June 22, her and I picked (for the first time) up bubble gum at the local convenience store and started the chewing gum journey
After semi-regular practice (about once a week) she not only landed blowing bubble, but enjoyed the experienced so much that continued to chew gum for about 1-2 hours after
Parenting philosophy
I recognize that I value independence and probably much more relaxed than the average parent when it comes to “rules”
As her father, I’m not seeking “compliance”. Often, Elliott asks the question “why” a lot. It’s not just a single “why”; sometimes its a recursive why of about 5-6 (sometimes more).
During these moments, I practice mindfulness and patience (for the long term), really putting my best foot forward to answer honestly. I love the fact that she probes and questions and applies critical thinking, even at the cost of (short term) effort and sometimes frustration that I experience
Teaching emotions
We sat in bed today, watching trailers of “Inside Out” and “Inside Out 2”. She asked “who’s that” and I would explain that’s envy, a useful emotion. All emotions serve a purpose.
Emotions is not only something I am devoting time and energy as a 36 year old learning, but a topic that was never discussed with me growing up
I recognize in this life time, I can only pass so much down in one generation and if I had to prioritize, learning about our inner emotions is one of my main priorities
Spiritual Growth of Elliott
Relatedly, I’m interested in nurturing her spiritual growth (cannot even define this yet and still learning about this topic)
I try to remain very curious of her own values and try to remain aware of my own blind spots and times when I imposing my own values. For instance, to name a few, I value physical activity, independence, curiosity. Will Elliott value those things? Maybe. Maybe not.
In fact, I already recognize (perhaps through osmosis from her mom) that Elliott pays attention to aesthetically beautiful things (I do not necessarily have a high value for beauty like things in nature)
