Last night we had a powerful breakthrough with Jillian. My oldest son David had a few friends over. They went to hang out at Sunnyside Park. Jillian wanted to go, but I did not let her. She went to room to cry. I called her out and we had this amazing talk where I was able help lift her out of feeling sorry for herself. We're helping our kids learn to rule their emotions, instead of being ruled by them. She was ruled by sadness, anger, and a victim mentality. Within a few minutes I explained the reasons why I wanted her to stay - I did not trust David to care for her when he's focused on his buddies and I wanted to give David that time to be with his friends without the responsibility of caring for Jillian. I asked her if she trusted me to care for her. She said yes. I walked her through examining what she was feeling, and the choices she made to give herself over to those feelings. Within a few minutes, a light clicked on and the joy was in her eyes over understanding my decision, the care for her (and her brother), and how she could conquer the feelings of disappointment. There was obviously much more to it than written here. My excitement is in the magical moments of empowerment are all over the place.
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