Relationship Reflection

            The two biggest reasons relationships are important to me are because they make me feel loved/appreciated and they give me a sense of belonging.  I said loved/appreciated because professional relationships make me feel appreciated while personal relationships make me feel both loved and appreciated.  Both personal and professional relationships give me a sense of belonging.  Personally with my family, I feel like I do belong.  I love being a wife, mother, and daughter.  My professional relationships validate the work that I do.  I love my job and those relationships strengthen those feelings.  I belong in this field.

            I feel blessed that I have a multitude of people that I have positive relationships with.  Personally some of the most important relationships that I have are with my husband and my mother.  My husband is my better half and my rock.  He is always there for me when I need him and is incredibly supportive.  I would not be where I am today without him.  The biggest factors that contribute to this relationship are our communication and ability to compromise.  I think these two things are they keys to any successful relationship.  My mother is also an avenue of support for me.  She raised me and has always been there for me through everything.  She is my best friend.

            Professionally I have wonderful relationships with my co-workers.  We communicate and respect each other.  Whenever we need help or something done, we can rely on each other to get the job done.  Plus we have fun together.  I also have some amazing relationships with the providers I work with.  Our relationships are built on trust and respect. 

            Overtime I have experienced both positive and negative relationships.  The successful relationships were the positive ones.  I think I have highlighted the biggest reasons why they worked when talking about my relationships.  A successful relationship is one where everyone shares open communication.  When communicating, one must be respectful which can be hard to do at times.  In order for anything to do get done, compromise is needed.  One cannot always be right or have things done his/her way.  If this occurs, the relationships are usually not successful.  The people within a relationship need to support and be there for each other.  In order for this to time, there needs to be an element of trust.  Trust is the foundation for any relationship.  Without it, relationships are not able to grow and develop.

            I think my experiences and ability to contribute to relationships is vital to my success as an early childhood professional.  Our field is built on relationships with children, teachers, parents, administrators, co-workers, etc.  Without this network of relationships and partnerships, our field would not be as advanced as it is today. Also, our ability to educate children and their families would not be as successful as it is today.  We are able to share and communicate.  This benefits everyone, especially the children.
(I tried to upload pictures, but something is not working.  I do have some pictures earlier on my blog if you would like to scroll through and see them.)