There are times I think I suck as a parent. I want my children to have a patient, understanding, positive role model as a mother. Unfortunately, when I lie my head on my pillow at night and review the days events I usually come up short.

I remember the moments where Logan’s whining sounded like nails on a chalkboard and instead of walking out of the room, I yelled at him. I remember Kora calling me a bad mother because I turned off the kids’ CD in the car when we were a block away from the house. I remember Logan darting across a parking lot in his excitement to get to a park, when I took my eyes off him for 30 seconds. I remember these moments along with many more and my heart lurches. Who allowed me to become a mother?

Then I remember Kristi Yamaguichi.

At the gym a while back, I was watching a tv interview with Scott Hamilton. He discussed all the obstacles in his life, how he overcame them, and how he didn’t let them bring him down. He was very motivational.

He also told a wonderful story about Kristi Yamaguchi that really hit home for me. In one of her biggest performances, Kristi had an extremely difficult jump to land in the first part of the routine. It was a jump she practiced so often she could do it in her sleep. She began her routine, performed the jump, and fell.

Everyone was aghast. Scott said Kristi made a face that read, “Hmm. That was weird.” He even saw her shrug. She got up, moved on from the error, and continued her performance to finish successfully, some even said phenomenally.

When asked later about the jump Kristi said she gave it her best, but falls happen. She said she didn’t give the error a second thought throughout the rest of the routine. She moved on, concerning herself only with the upcoming moves. The fall had already happened and she couldn’t do anything about it, so why worry about it and let it affect the rest of her performance?

This impacted me greatly. I often find myself dwelling on situations I could have handled differently. I beat myself up over how I acted when Logan refused to eat his dinner or when Kora cried because we weren’t going to the library for the 5th time in a week. I used to think beating myself up equaled learning. When, in essence, it’s simply making me feel terrible, grumpy, and more prone to yelling. I now realize I cannot go back in time and change what has happened. I can only take a moment to learn from it, recognize that I did my best at the time, and move forward.

With this new wisdom, I hope to sleep easier at night and be a more peaceful parent. If I make a mistake and fall into my old ways, I’ll recognize the error, but focus on the future. You just never know where you’ll find parenting advice. So today I say, thank you to Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi.

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