In the youngest years of my children's lives I lived in a world of possibility, and one terrifying possibility was that I might screw it all up. This worry, and the guilt that went with it each time I made a mistake, was crushing in its weight. I wanted to parent perfectly, and I could become nearly [...]Continue Reading
dealing with guilt
We Can Foster Connection More Simply – Here’s How
It's easy to get caught up in all the things you "should" be doing to connect with the people you love. Your kids, your partner, your parents or friends - our relationships naturally are extremely important to us, and with our powerful desire to connect we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to [...]Continue Reading
Finding Balance – Printable Weekly Journal Page
"My goal is to be more balanced." Have you ever heard this before? Or maybe said it yourself? Balance is something I chased after for years, but the definition of balance I had in mind was really unhelpful because it was unattainable. The journal prompts I'm sharing today are part of a weekly [...]Continue Reading
You can love kids from a distance – the joy of unexpected downtime
Your Mission: Find Unexpected Downtime. This article is an excerpt from my book Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection not Perfection. After getting used to the idea that we have to take care of ourselves in the most basic ways, finding unexpected opportunities for [...]Continue Reading
You Know What Will Ruin My Kids?
Banishing the Should Mama This post is an excerpt from my book Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection not Perfection. This moment, which I originally wrote about in 2013, sparked a huge transformation for my parenting, reducing guilt and allowing me to enjoy my family [...]Continue Reading
This Shift in Perspective Took Away the Choke-hold of Guilt on my Parenting
When I first had kids, I had no idea of the huge weight of guilt I was about to take on. For one thing, I didn't realize I had a temper until I the first time I found myself yelling my head off at my nine month old baby who was crying in the back seat - where had that momster come from!? I had so [...]Continue Reading