Durability MATters

What comes to mind when you think about your door mat? Perhaps its function, to remove the dirt from shoes or the feet of visitors. Or maybe its location, resting lonely outside your front door. On the other hand, what do you imagine when you consider a trampoline mat. I guess you may think about its purpose, to propel laughing kids in the air or its strength, allowing multiple people to lie on it during a lazy summer’s afternoon. 

As a parent, if I had to be a mat (which is a bit weird in the first place) I’d want to be a trampoline mat rather than a door mat. Stay with me…

Door mats come in a variety of styles and in many cases can brighten up the entrance to your home. They are also very functional. After all, who wants more grass and dirt on your floor? Therefore there is nothing wrong with door mats. However when it comes to parenting, the function of removing dirt or issues, alongside the location of resting outside of the place where family lives, is not all that attractive. 

On the other hand, in researching trampoline mats (that all emerging writers would do!) I discovered a couple of fun facts that I wanted to share with you.

1.    Almost all jumping mats are made from polypropylene which is a highly durable woven fabric of incredible elasticity and endurance, made to withstand the longest possible period of usage.[1]

2.    They are usually waterproof, but still can be damaged by natural elements.

Woven Fabric

If we choose the life of a trampoline mat (with the intention of joyfully propelling our adult child) there are some things we can do to make the “mat” function most effectively. I found it interesting to read that the mat is made from durable woven fabric. What we weave in our own life (eg. good health, good relationships, good habits) will make our mat more durable. It’s hard for our child to rely on our stability if we lack strength in these areas.

And I’m not just talking about reliable stability but in fact enduring, reliable stability. Wow that sounds big. And it is. But like all big things, it can be built one step (or decision then follow through) at a time. How is your exercise, eating and sleeping going? Who are you spending time with? What habits have you fallen into that are unhealthy? Ouch, did you feel that too?! Perhaps it's time to do a stocktake on our weaving!

Waterproof

Then there is the waterproofing. As you know, our lives are impacted by the elements that are thrown at us over time. Disappointment, unfaithfulness, addiction, illness, financial stress, and the list goes on. So how do we waterproof our life so we can better serve our child? Being found in community, whether that be family, neighbours, social group or church, is a great place to start. Life in isolation is not truly living. We are created for community and that is where support and encouragement is found. Just as our child needs us, we too need others. 

And we know well that water is not the only thing that can spray out of a vessel. Words also flow quite freely from the mouths of others. Unfortunately words are not always uplifting. It’s those negative (and often destructive) words that we need waterproofing against. Words are hard not to hear but they can be disallowed to penetrate. Having a supply of alternate words at your disposal can be great waterproofing. And remember sometimes those words come from within. So being able to combat those from penetrating are important too.

The ability for us to propel our adult child into places he or she will experience great joy and fulfilment will rest on our durability. This motivates me to consider what I’m weaving into my life and how well I’m being waterproofed. How about you?

Time to reflect:

What are you weaving into your life? Are there areas of health, relationships or habits that need some adjusting?

Who is your community?

What phrases can you have on hand when negative words spray your way?

Stay tuned for my next blog. I’ll be sharing a story about a train trip on an overseas holiday that went terribly wrong. My hope is to draw out parenting principles from that experience. For now though I’d love to hear from you with any questions or helpful tips around parenting adults.

[1] https://protrampolines.com/parts-accessories/trampoline-mats/#gref