Well, it’s Monday again and in lieu of the Monday Menu (I couldn’t come up with something good) I decided to link up with Just.Be.Enough for a change.

It’s been a while since I wrote anything for their weekly link up but something just clicked this week… I’m not sure what it was. Oh wait, yes I do.

My sister called me Sunday evening and we talked as we normally do but then out of curiosity I asked if she had spoken with our dad in a while. I pretty much knew the answer… she hadn’t. But I wanted to hear what she had to say and if she was still upset with him, of course she was.

Each of us has a different style of parenting, a different style of discipling, and different ways of showing love to our kids. There isn’t much out there either to say that one way is wrong and another is right and we all do what works best for our families and our situation. Honestly, I think that we all make mistakes once in a while…. almost daily in my case. I know that I’m far from perfect and try to realize where I go wrong and not do it again.

My sister and I are pretty close and often a day rarely goes by that we don’t talk. In ways we are similar… scary similar and then in other ways we are so different, but that’s what makes us who we are. Raising our kids is one of the ways that we differ.

While she was home my parents got upset about the way her & her husband treated their son(s). They thought that my sister & her husband were to hard on the boys and didn’t treat them equally. My parents said something to them and caused quiet a stir that weekend… needless to say things were a little tense.

Did I agree with the way they treated the boys? No, but it’s not my place to say anything how they raise their kids. They’re not mean, they’re not abusive, or anything like that. What they are is strict and they mean business when they say something… they’re also a dual military family (20+ years in the service for them). I think that alone says something.

Did I agree with how my parents went about saying something? No, but that’s just them. Really, it could have been a lot worse…. my parents held back a lot. But they couldn’t hold it in for long and my dad finally called my sister and let her have it.

Long story short my sister is still upset and through our conversation she said something that stuck with me…. there are things that I do as a parent that she doesn’t like. She didn’t elaborate on it or even hint at what it was, but while I know we don’t agree on things it caught me off guard. What was it that I do wrong? What is it that she doesn’t like?

It’s been bugging me ever since I talked to her…. is there a lot that I’m doing wrong? Have I done everything wrong as a parent?

Am I enough?

I love my kids dearly.

I would do anything for my kids.

I try my best every single day.

I want only the best for my kids.

I listen to them.

I give them the best advice I have.

I set boundaries & have rules.

I am enough!

We’re all different as parents and we all do the very best that we can each day.

That said… I am enough and so are you.