To one person...

"To the world, you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world"

- Brandi Snyder

Photo Credit: Dada

This is going to be a strange Mother's Day to add to the list of all other strange days happening in this era of Corona...birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, baby showers, baby births, funerals...special occasions that would normally bring loved ones together have all been quarantined too. Now, more than ever before, the availability of modern technology is proving its worth in this new normal...video calls have become our saving grace and link to continued human connection.

Mother's Day is Everyday!

Just like Valentines Day & Father's Day, I believe we should celebrate the incredible love journey of being a mother everyday! What this Corona era has taught me is to cherish TIME with our loved ones....especially making the most of this extra time with our children.

I've been going through old photographs and adorable videos of their little faces and little voices...those baby voices that melt your heart. Back when they were toddlers, the days seemed endless...the depleted, foggy energy of exhaustion and 'mommy brain' reigned supreme and getting to the finish line of another day took herculean efforts. Yet these endlessly long days molded into months that quickly sprinted into years! Those chubby cheeks and sweet voices morph into upright walking little humans with faces that start to resemble our own and voices that loudly encapsulate their incessant curiosity and wild dreams. Suddenly, my eldest is ten and I've been a mother for a decade!

Rearing Little Humans

Our two boys cannot be more different from each other! Ethan, our eldest is the empath and peacekeeper. He is a quiet creative force infatuated with learning fun facts about every species of animal on the planet and designing fantastical creatures, dresses and buildings. Dustan is our mischievous, free-spirited wild child. He is excited and curious about everything mechanical or scientific, constantly inventing elaborate weapons and machines to take over the world :) Although they share a fierce bond and love for each other, they are boys with polar opposite personalities, which result in daily war of the world clashes! Parenting this duo requires very strategic procedures and body armor!

Their individual personalities are blooming and their belief systems are taking root. In our own personal growth journeys, Andrew and I have developed a keen awareness of the importance of beliefs, attitudes and actions in living a healthy, empowered life. We have been on a home-based mission to teach our little humans the importance of these things too. It is not easy, but like the saying goes, everything worthwhile, is uphill!

My heart hurts when I see Ethan worrying over little things and spending too much energy trying to please everyone around him...he reminds me so much of myself...the myself that just recently began to morph into someone stronger, healthier and lighter. I get anxious by the thought of me failing to inject as much light as possible into his view of himself and the world. Then there's my rambunctious Dustan, whose zeal for dare devil explorations, fun and being the boss of his older brother makes my heart skip too many beats too often.

On one hand, Andrew and I are trying to instill confidence, a strong voice and ability to stand up for himself in Ethan...and on the other hand, teaching Dustan why it's important to take care of his body temple (i.e. prevention of major cuts, bruises and broken bones!) and to respect and treat his brother, and others fairly. There is never a dull moment in this household!

Motivational speaker and author, Marcus Buckingham, when talking about his personal childhood struggle with a terrible stutter, dropped this nugget of gold on parenting...he said

Do not marinate in brokenness - Marcus Buckingham

He was referring to his parents' perspective on dealing with his speech impediment. They showered him in love and treated him like there was nothing wrong, always supporting and encouraging him to participate in normal life activities. It was this support that allowed him to conquer his fears and fully cure his stutter.

Celebrate & Nurture

I believe in marinating in unconditional love and continual growth. Being constantly fixated on what we perceive to be 'flaws' in our children, only cements into their very absorbent belief systems that they are flawed and broken. Instead we should celebrate and nurture their strengths while encouraging them to grow into their fully potentiated selves. Cement into their belief systems that they are capable of achieving whatever they put their minds to. It is in these childhood years that we as parents can make the biggest impact in their lives.

Bad moments don't make bad moms! - Lisa Terkeurst

Looking through these old photographs inevitably causes me to look at me...look at my face, look into my eyes...look at the mama who was hurting and clamoring to stay above the surface. My heart, body and soul mourns the moments lost to the darkness. Moments that I could've been focusing on fully enjoying the precious little details of my babies...instead of being trapped in a reoccurring thunderstorm. Even with the unwavering reassurance from my husband, I still wonder sometimes if I could've done a better job when they were younger. I think this is a common fear that us mamas and all parents experience at times. But something I'm becoming better at is being kinder to myself. My favorite mentor, Paul often says that

We must be gentle on ourselves and recognize that we are in process - Paul Martinelli

When I pause, take a deep breath and look at those photographs again, I realize that I did a pretty awesome job. Even in my darkest moments (and they most definitely were not all dark) I showed up for them! And guess what, they didn't turn out all too bad :)

Little Ones Pick Up on Everything!

Ethan often comments that he loves it when I smile and Dustan just today pulled out his 'mega injector' (long piece of plastic from an old stand, engineered with a connector part from his fort building set) to test my happiness level. These little humans have highly tuned antennas that pick up on any frequency changes in their environments! This once caused me to fear that my 'lowered' frequencies would result in giving them unnecessary worry...I've now learned to face this fear head-on with an honest, open communication rule in our household. If the boys pick up on my low, this growing mama now stops what I am doing, looks them in the eye and explains that I'm a little down but will be great in no time! And nowadays I am happy to report that this is truth!

I think it's important to foster this type of home environment for our kids...one where they are not afraid to ask questions, to share opinions, and express emotions. And lemme tell you, it's amazing the truths you uncover and the positive growth that happens by being intentional in this process!

Happy Mamas

I celebrate Mama's Day everyday because it should be! I'm proud of my journey so far...I'm grateful for my truly amazing parenting partner and plan on continue growing into the best mama I can be for our family. I want to be wholly present and the force of radiant light in their lives.

I read somewhere that kids don't want a perfect mom...they want a Happy one...

and I'm well on my way to giving them just that and more!

Happy Mother's day to all the perfectly imperfect mamas out there! May your growth journeys be filled with beautiful light!

xoxo

Mama's Day Gustav Klimpt Photoshoot :)

Photo Credit to Dada & Idea Inspiration to Nana