The LONG Road to Leaning Into The Power of Connectedness, Anchoring Our Families and Leading with Love. The Steps I Took to Move From Being a Pressure Parent to a More Purposeful One. Sweet child of mine….this cherub faced child almost killed me. For REAL. I found these pictures recently and I cried…..tears of sadness lined with gratitude. I was finally able to look at them with completely FRESH EYES. And perhaps for the first time, I saw exactly what I NEEDED to see. The one of my sweet boy in a sea of his classmates is especially precious and...
Peak Performance Parenting: The Pitfalls Every Parent Should Avoid on The Journey to Creating Confident Kids
“I know mom….don’t rub it in my face”….. I overheard a daughter talking to her mother after her performance at an elite gymnastics qualifier this past winter. As those piercing words hit my ears….my heart sank. I ached for her. Both of them actually. To be fair, I didn’t hear the first part of the conversation but from the girl’s response I could make a pretty good inference…..I also didn’t see this child compete that day but I sure saw her heart as I shuffled past them. That one little phrase told me the whole story. A sad one. One...
Hey Mama, You Are So Much More Beautiful Than You Think.
Please watch this video before reading this blog post. Dove Real Beauty Video (Click link to watch) Have you seen this ladies? A friend pointed me in this direction during a recent conversation about teen girls, self-image, peer pressure and mental health. A weighty subject indeed. And this short little snippet rocked my world. Because I could totally relate to the women depicted, and that made me very sad. I also knew; instantaneously, where it all began~in my youth. The negative self-talk that started at a young age and served as an initial “motivator” to walk a straight line, stay fit, be a...
When the End of an Era Arrives and Our First Instinct is to Stifle…. Instead, we Must Lean Into the Magic That Has Yet to be Revealed.
I did a thing recently. I packed princesses in a closet… and it feels like the end of an ERA. Quite frankly, it is. And it makes me sad. These meticulously carved and beautifully colored figurines used to proudly adorn my daughter Sophee’s dresser. Displayed as a centerpiece that literally welcomed you into her room with warmth, whimsy and a touch of magic. A little girls room that is now a NOT SO little girls room….because my baby is growing and changing. All the things that we want desperately for our children, but part of us begs to STIFLE at the...
The Day a Real Live Momster Came to Town and it was Me: Lessons From Tiptoeing Through Grief
In the hardest things we do-love sees us through. I have to believe this, especially TODAY. My grief following the passing of my father has been consistently inconsistent. Some days (like today) it looks like anger and impatience with the people I cherish most- the souls that look to me to be strong and balanced. Other days it looks like aloofness, over busyness, silence, exasperation, or head under water-drowning in emotion-but always love. The worst is when it “sneak attacks me” and just shows up, “seemingly out of nowhere” hijacking my mood and my sanity. Sadly, today was one of...
Speak it, Show it, BE it…Our Number One Job as Parents is to LOVE HARD Everyday.
THIS. It’s so on point. Isn’t it grand? I had to pair it with this picture because when I look at the picture, all I think about is LOVE. How it literally jumps out of the image~it’s palpable. It’s also one of my most favorites because it captures a much simpler time in our life (although we didn’t know it then). Ahhh, the innocence (both the kids AND us). Nevertheless, so much has changed since then; yet, there is one constant. Unrelenting LOVE. We tell our kids we love them EVERYDAY (a gazillion times)….we hug and kiss and squeeze them...
Want Magic in Your Life? You’ve Got to Get Over Your Darn Self First.
I’m a pretty serious person. I take my life and my choices VERY seriously. I make moves that are well thought out, planned to the max and generally sound in judgement. I’m not a huge risk taker but I do pride myself in seeing promise within creative opportunity. I’m a pretty confident person so I’ve got that going for me too. But in many ways, in some of the most chaotic years of our life, I was muffling the magic. Mind you, our kids were young and our home environment; albeit fast-paced and quite noisy, was akin to a story-book...
Moms Everywhere: STOP Being the Thief of Your Own Joy by Letting FEAR Rule the Roost.
If you’re not careful, your own fears and insecurities will not only trick you into a mediocre life, they will rob you of your joy along the way. So much truth in this statement right here. When I first saw it I had to let it sink in for a moment (well maybe two) to grasp its powerful significance in my own life. I’ve come to know wholeheartedly though, that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, we ever REALLY want in this life, is on the other side of FEAR. I see you my friends….harried, exhausted, depleted, tentative and in constant impression...
No Piece of Artwork is Free of Eraser Marks, Especially Ourselves…
Art comes naturally to my daughter. She is quite talented and yet she is perfectionist. I wonder where she gets that from? Anyway, she was working on a project for her art class recently and it was pushing and stretching her a bit. I could see it in her defeated facial expressions and feel it emanating from her less than joy-filled body language. She was getting frustrated that she needed to keep making adjustments~erasing and editing to continue moving in image in the direction she desired. I assured her that this was “normal” and that she just needed to stick...
Riding Down Memory Lane with a Beloved Staple of Childhood….
Anyone remember the children’s artist named Raffi? I was first introduced to him when I was fresh out of college and eagerly putting my knowledge into action as an in-home support person providing early intervention services for kiddos with special needs. The kiddos I worked with loved music. It was soothing to them and his bright and airy tunes were some of their favorites. And they stuck with me too… long after I was married and had children of my own. I retreated to his collection as a parent to bring sunshine into our days and a collective positive energy...
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