This weekend was the final baseball tournament for my oldest son. They won. It was a great game. Filled with tears, cheers, and anxiety (me and the children)

This morning for the first time since March when baseball season began my husband and I did not have to co-ordinate our evening schedules. We stood there at the door for a second before saying goodbye, the time where I would usually ask, “So are you going to have time to stop by the house and bring him to practice, or should I drop him off?” or “Which kids have games tonight?”

It was only a second or two, during which I opened my mouth and then shut it.

“Heh, no baseball.” I said.

“Yeah,” my husband replied.

“Whatever will we talk about now?” I laughed.

*****

We said our goodbyes and I returned to the kitchen to my cup of coffee and my computer, but the exchange got me thinking.

How many times as parents do we do things, or say things to our children simply because it is the way that we have always done it? How many times do we keep doing something that isn’t working or makes no sense simply because it has become a habit? How often are we stuck in a parenting rut?

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” –Albert Einstein

I love this quote. It sums up my life.

What sort of parenting ruts do you find yourself stuck in? And more importantly, what have you done to get out of them?