Relationship Reflection

Maintaining healthy relationships is very important to me. One reason is that relationships help me to learn how to communicate. I have learned different communication skills for different types of people. Different types of relationships require different communication skills. Relationships are important because of the personal satisfaction you receive from being able to reach out to other people. In addition, I believe relationships allow me to learn how to be a more effective listener. Not only do I need to know how to communicate with another person, but also I need to be able to listen and show empathy. Relationships are only successful if both parties contribute equally. Finally, relationships help me to reduce stress in my life. I know that when stress occurs I will be able to talk about it and trust the person I am confiding in. Reducing stress helps me to maintain a healthier life and more successful relationships.

My husband, Michael

One relationship I cherish and nurture each day is with my husband, Michael. Michael and I have been married almost 15 years and constantly work on maintaining a healthy relationship. We believe in open and honest communication. We share everything even if we know the other person may be upset hearing it. When we have times of difficulty or stress, we work it out. We have always lived by the motto “never go to bed angry”. Yes, this has made for some long nights, but our relationship is successful because of it. Since our son was born, we have met new challenges in maintaining a strong relationship. Our time is limited to communicate or dedicating alone time. We adjusted quickly and share responsibilities so each of us free time and equal time together. Michael is truly my partner in life. Our marriage is a true partnership. Each person shares responsibilities as well as gives equally to maintaining a healthy, successful relationship.

My son's baptism with my sister, Nicole

    

   

 Another relationship I cherish is the relationship with my sister, Nicole. Nicole and I try to talk or at least text each other every day. We live 8 hours away from each other so we do not spend much time together. Since I moved from home, we have tried to attend all of each other’s special moments. She was here for the birth of my son. Being so far away from each other, we recognize the time we get to spend together is important to us. We find time to talk to each other and share our lives. We listen to each other and offer advice when necessary. Life is busy and we realize it so many times text messages or a quick email will serve as a communication source in our relationship.

Maintaining relationships can be challenging for building relationship. We move every few years and new relationships are formed and some relationships are put on the back burner. One relationship that I cherish is a former mother of one of my first students. She lives in Alaska while I live in Illinois. This relationship was formed when I had her son in my classroom. We built the relationship on the need to communicate about her son. While developing the professional relationship, we found ourselves becoming friends too. When her son was no longer in my room, we develop a personal relationship. We found times to sit down and talk and learn about each other. After six years of not seeing each other and only communicating through email or Facebook, I got to meet up with her while I was vacationing in Alaska. Our personal relationship was still strong, and we were able to talk to each other like we see each other every day. I was excited to hear she is moving to the same Air Force base in July, but we found out we were moving at the end of the summer too.

Each of these relationships has helped me to understand the importance of relationships and creating effective relationships in my classroom. Each family is unique, but relationships can be built when we are open to communicating and listening to the needs of their children. Respect is one area that I have found that will create enhance any relationship. As I learned while building relationships in my early childhood development days, every parent wants to be treated with respect. Respect with parents is earned when a teacher can listen to their needs and provide positive feedback.