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
dealing with guilt
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
Make Sure Your Family Feels the Love – it’s simpler than you may think
A friend of mine is grieving the loss of her mother this week. She sent out a simple, yet heartfelt message that said: "If it’s been a bit since you’ve talked to someone you love.... pick up the phone and say I love you." I’ve been thinking about that this week. Pick up the phone and say I [...]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
I Know a Secret About Getting Past the Monster
I've made so many mistakes. And I used to be paralyzed by the feelings of shame and guilt I had about those mistakes. This is a story for any of you who live with a bleak inner monster who whispers to you about why you'll never be worthy or lovable. Many of us get pretty good at shutting out the [...]Continue Reading
What Good Mothers Do
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
