52 Week Challenge - Week 3 Challenge

The Family Mission Statement or as I came to think of it “Mission Impossible”.

A week in and I still hadn’t approached my family (LOML and Merman) to discuss our Family Mission Statement. Thank heavens we have two weeks to complete this challenge.   I thought about it, I then put it out of my mind and then thought about it a bit more.  I finally asked my fellas to spend some time with me to work out our Family Mission Statement.  I’d like to back track a bit here and explain why I’ve struggled with this.
My LOML is over 50 and from the era that doesn’t really go for all this new age mumbo jumbo (his words) and well Merman is the typical 15 year old boy. So I didn’t have high hopes for a successful outcome. As usual I don’t give my fellas enough credit. Even though they weren’t totally sold on “the family mission statement” they participated, maybe not overly enthusiastic but for the love of me they participated.  Which makes me feel really good and very grateful for their love.
I rehearsed my words a few times and then I let loose but it didn’t quite come out the way I wanted but the effect was the same we worked through the questions Deb (http://www.homelifesimplified.com.au/) provided and we had a few laughs while we worked our way to the bottom of the list.

It was interesting to find out that both my fellas described me as a “worrier” that cares and is loving.  I like the cares and loving but a worrier – well this is something to work on. 

I really liked that we all used similar words when describing what was important to us and how we value each other, our family and our values.

I was intrigued to find that the relationships we want are friendly, nice, honest, hassle free and peaceful -   I think I might have influenced this one. This led in nicely with the way we treat each other which is respectfully. Generally we are a happy family that respects each other and don’t really want to change – this was pleasing to hear especially since it came from Merman.

We’ve never been into what others think about us, keeping up with the Jones’ so this doesn’t really mean a lot to us and not something I want to spend much time on.

We are at our best when we spend time together whether it is watching movies, supporting our favorite footy team or working together. On the flip side we are at our worst when we yell at each other and don’t respect each other. As parents we are passionate about wanting the best for Merman and teaching him the skills he needs to live a happy and successful life. Sometimes the three of us disagree about the best way to do this but in the long run we get there and always know that what we do we do for love.

Having a few laughs along the way we came up with the following about when we are the most happiest………… no particular order

When Merman brings home A’s on his report card.

When things go right

When LOML isn’t nagged by me (I wonder who provided this amazing insight)

Ok so after the discussion with my fellas and some more thought I think I have it “The mission statement for our family is”:

We believe in each other and will be respectful in all our dealings. We value each other and life. Our home is a place where we can be ourselves. We encourage honesty and integrity. We work together to achieve happiness, honesty and integrity.

To bring this mission statement to life a few things have to happen:

I need to take heed of what both of my fellas said and stop worrying so much.

We need to continue to communicate and be there for each other.

We need to respect each other’s opinion (always support St George Illawarra).

We need to remain relaxed and remember our home is a home and not a house.

We need to continue to value each other and always act with honesty and integrity.

We need to have fun and remember to smell the roses.

This challenge wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, I actually received some really good feedback especially from Merman.  I really like how we spoke about fun and happiness. This is something I want to follow up on, to make sure our home remains happy and healthy.

This week we had some sad news, a boy that Merman used to go to school with committed suicide.  It was so sad – 15 years old and he took his own life. Sometimes this world is so sad and really disturbing.  It is really important for me to ensure the lines of communication are always open and no matter what, no matter the issue, no matter how annoyed or angry we are that we always talk to each  other.  That we always treat each other with respect, honesty and integrity and are always understanding. It doesn’t mean we agree with everything and I know there will be days that will be turbulent but if we respect each other we can get through anything.

As we continue our journey through 2012 we will continue to value each other and always act with honesty and integrity.  I know there will be some down days but I also know that there will be many happy, fun and enjoyable times.

 Our Mission (if we choose to accept it) is to put this Family  Mission Statement into reality and to make sure that it won’t self destruct………………..