Highlight of the summer thus far: giant bubbles. (thanks, Bubbleon)
Sisters! Brothers! Geeks of all breadths and hues … welcome.
This geek has been attempting something akin to a holiday … a staycation, in the modern vernacular. I’d like to pretend it’s been all drinks-with-umbrellas and joyful laughter, but the truth is much crunchier than that. I’d love to be a fly on the wall of other homes, to see what happens when nobody’s watching. Are other mothers as grouchy as I? Do other husbands retreat to their devices as quickly as mine? Are other 5 year olds as swift to dissolve into rage as my daughter is? And what of the other teens? Are their eyerolls as accomplished?
I do believe that it’s too easy for us to imagine the best of others and the worst of ourselves, when the more useful thing would be to offer the same compassion to ourselves (and our spouses, our children, heck … even our slow-to-mature potato plants!) that we routinely offer to others.
You know what helps me? Yoga. January means 30 days of yoga with Adriene. I’ve done 3 of these challenges before, and they are DIVINE. This year is no exception. Check ‘er out here. LOVE YOU, ADRIENE kiss kiss x x x I’m up to day 12 and finding such joy.
Anyway, alongside my attempts at holidaying, the year thus far has been a time to work on getting ducks in a row for the new year. I have study in my future, research to do, issues that I’d like to sit and stare at. I need to think deeply for weeks at a time. The trickiness emerges when us mamas have hopes for our lives beyond parenting (be it work, advocacy, study, training of one kind or another) and then parenting rises up – daily, repeatedly, at least a half dozen times already during this itty bitty post.
The constancy of interruption in my life is one of the consistencies thereof. Irony! Hi! How’s it going?
And listen: the fight for our own attention is one of the reasons I continue to oxygenate the battle against the dominance of the screens, especially with regards to our kids. Please: behold this webinar “Screen Time & Family Relationships“, brought to you by the Children’s Screen Time Action Network, and starring Dr. Richard Freed. I watched it live (ok, I put some laundry away as well …I’m still working to break the multitasking habit, oK?) but watch it NOW! And join the Network, it’s free.
Other links, then I’m off down the river with my peeps.
The same beautiful peeps who challenge and berate and INTERRUPT me. I will try to find something new in each of them, today. Esther Perel would insist!
This is from Zero to Three, and it’s some sobering data about how little most people report to know about early brain development. Still got work to do, homies. Speaking of work to do, this is one take on the early childhood education scene in NZ at the mo. Factory Farms. Sigh.
Here is a link from Mothering, describing Pope Francis and his healthy attitude to breastfeeding. And this is a link to an article I wrote for OHbaby! a while back. Did I tell yiz about the most recent issue and the work I did in there? Might have to share that laters. That is a special magazine, y’know. The calibre of editors is second to none!
As we put the final shovels of earth onto the grave of 2017, I must acknowledge the beauty of this writing by Emily Writes for the Spinoff (so good) on the subject of parenting at Christmas time. I tried to create a similar type of comradery the previous Christmas, just with different words y’know. And as January chugs along, I once again wish to raise a toast to the kin keepers, because we are sorting school uniforms, assessing the state of the 1B4’s (how many can be reused? How many must be bought?) and sniffing lunchboxes. Repairing zips on backpacks, stocking up on socks. Unseen. Undervalued.
Is it any wonder we can get a bit worn down and cynical, hmmm?
If you ain’t feeling the new year, check out these 5 ways to get motivated. If you can muster the enthusiasm to click the link, that is.