Relationship Reflection

It's funny to even think about how some of the relationships I have gotten myself into have even started! But, out of all of the relationships I have developed and maintained, one thing remains evident in my mind: importance. In order for me to have a "relationship" with another person, they have to mean a great deal of importance to me. Relationships/partnerships are important to me because I can learn about the interests people have, form a connection, and develop life-long friendships.



With equal importance is my favorite cousin, Charlisa. My relationship with her is important because I practically watched her as a baby. I've had the pleasure of watching her grow up from a baby to a beautiful young lady. I enjoy the fact that she calls me from time to time to check up on me and my children. I am always there for her when she needs me and she is there for me when I need a babysitter (ha ha).



Shelbie is my oldest child. She is my life and my heart. My relationship with her is positive because I continue to be involved in her life. I make her feel love and let her know that I love her as I do my youngest child, Braylon. They are both my pride and joy and gets and deserves nothing but the best from me.

Besides my children and Charlisa, I have positive relationships with several people. They include my mother, my older sister, Shawndrae, my cousins, my aunts, my co-workers, my children' fathers, and God.

Of course, every relationship I have is different. With my sister, it's on a bonding level. Most siblings don't get along as adults. Well, it was the opposite for my sister and I. We didn't get along as children and now she's like the best friend I've always wanted. We talk almost everyday and always give and ask each other for advice on anything. With my childrens' father, however, it's on parenting level. I have to have a positive relationship with them for the sake of my children. Factors that contribute to developing and maintaining each relationship are patience, work, communication, strength, compromising, acceptance, and time. It takes time and work to develop relationships and it take times and work to maintain them. I didn't expect to not end up with the father of my children but I had to adjust to that. My relationship with them is specifically about the children.

As I have mentioned, it takes patience and communication to develop and maintain relationships. Over the years, I have learned that often my patience is very limited and my communication is not very thorough. I had to discover that with my children' fathers. We may disagree on things but in the end, communication and patience is the best way to go. I learned that in order to move forward, effective communication is needed and that may take practice. That's okay. Nobody's perfect and we're only human. The good thing is that I learned from my mistakes and so have my children' fathers and we can now discuss anything without emotions getting in the way.

My experiences with relationships/partnerships, including my ability to be an active, reflective contributor, impacts my work as an effective early childhood professional by revealing that every relationship I am in is what I make of it. I have to form positive relationships with families and their children in order to understand what the child's needs are and then using them in the class setting. Sure, I might get frustrated with separating my personal relationships from school relationships but that is what being an effective early childhood professional is all about. Finding a balance in it all. You can find out so much about a person by simply forming relationships with them. That's the approach that educators like myself need to involve in a class setting. Relationships are what you make them.