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All in perspective By Suzanne BroughtonPublished: April, 2010

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There are a few sure signs that you have entered the land of grownups – paying taxes; treating your parents’ to an expensive, swanky dinner; or even listening to Neil Diamond without shame.     But, you know what really makes you feel like you’re undeniably an adult? Speaking to your kid’s class about what you do for a living. So when my daughter’s third grade teacher asked me to talk to her class about being a professional writer and blogger, let’s just say I felt my age – in a good way.     It was 10 a.m. on a Wednesday morning. I stood in front of about 50 8- and 9-year-olds in a darkened room with my blog projected behind me, and I kicked off the talk with one word: “perspective.”     “Who knows what the word ‘perspective’ means?” I asked, and a smattering of hands went up. (Point to the first kid.)     “Um … ” No answer. All of the other kids put their hands down.     “‘Perspective’ is the way you see something,” I told them. “No one else in the world has your same perspective. It’s like your own creative fingerprint, and that is what you should focus on in your blog.”      I could tell by their bewildered faces that they needed an example.     “Let’s say, Sam and Matthew: You both play a game of baseball – Sam, you lose, and Matthew, you win.”     At this, Sam immediately gave me the never-gonna-happen look. “Sam, your perspective when you write about the game would be different than Matthew’s, right?” He nodded; his Yankee’s cap went up and down. “That’s your perspective. It’s how you saw things go down in the game.”     Think of perspective as your secret superpower, I told them.     “Showing your perspective is a powerful tool in photography, videos, writing and even in your daily life.”     I drove the point home by showing them my other blog, Orange County Daily Photo, which harnesses the talents of seven photographers all sharing their perspective of our great county. I pulled up a photo of a roller coaster at Knott’s Berry Farm.     “Here is this photographer’s perspective of a roller coaster – bet you’ve never seen it like this before.” They all laughed and nodded; I am  sure I heard a smattering of “Awesome!”     It started to sink in.     Perspective is a powerful tool in parenting, as well. Sometimes I get wrapped up in the day-to-day fracas of being a mom – all the little battles lost or won. The endless details and logistics of running my kids’ lives haze the goal, and I can lose perspective of my main job as a parent: to raise responsible adults who will contribute to society in a positive way.     But it’s hard to remember that when I’m locked in a heated argument with my son about the importance of wearing socks or frantically searching Michael’s for a bag of green marbles or scraping dried macaroni and cheese off the kitchen chairs. All of my efforts, big and small, are going toward the larger goal, and keeping it all in perspective is a daily endeavor.     I wrapped up my talk, and each kid assured me they wanted to start their own blog – which I strongly urge every kid over the age of 7 to do.     As I was saying goodbye, one of the boys said to my daughter, “Emily, you have the coolest mom EVER!” My daughter rolled her eyes and turned a nice shade of pink.     “Carter,” I said, “I like your perspective.” Suzanne Broughton is OC Family’s lead mom blogger. Read her blog HERE.

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