Blog Post #6

In class today we discussed the idea of red cape or green cape. Red cape being that you try to fix the bad and green being that you promote the good (Finley 2020). In class when we first started discussing it in a more general sense I was very much a red cape, but in more individual relationships I would consider myself a green cape. I try my best to appreciate the good and reinforce the positive actions. Working orientation my first year was highly stressful. When me and some of my coworkers were working very hard the night before orientation when stress was high, I made sure to thank them and reassure that the work they were doing was appreciated. We knew that we were under a deadline and that the pressure was high, so it felt very good to have positive affirmation for the work that we were doing. It helped motivate us to complete our tasks.

My mom is one of the most important people in my life. We have a very close relationship. Growing up and still to this day, my health is very delicate. Because of my fragile health we have worked very closely together to ensure that I stay healthy. Through these number of experiences we have developed a very strong and close relationship. In this relationship, I would think that I would wear a green cape, as there are very few cases where I feel like either of us need to be wearing our red cape. But there are ways we can utilize our green capes better. I feel like on my part I could definitely show more gratitude. Sometimes it’s hard to remember just how much my mom does for me and my brothers. Ways I could show more gratitude could be through positive affirmation like I did with my coworkers in orientation, recognizing and directly acknowledging the work she does and how much I appreciate it. I feel like one thing that could be improved on my mom’s end could be savoring. It’s not that she is not savoring the moments we have together, but there are times when I invite her to do something, and she invites some or all of my brothers to join us, when my intention was to have it be just the two of us. I understand that she wants my brothers to feel included, but I want to be able to have some time with just her so we can savor the experiences we have together when she is not stretched so thin. 

I think that the relationship with my mom already has a lot of the characteristics that were mentioned during our in-class activity today. My mom is supportive and caring, and I reciprocate these important aspects of a relationship. I can trust her with any information and our communication is really strong. She respects my privacy and vice versa. We also have a strong amount of empathy and capability to be vulnerable with each other. We treat and see each other as equals which helps us maintain our strong relationship.

Finley, K (2020). Positive relationships [PowePoint presentation]. Retrieved from Moodle.