I’m a mother…

of three beautiful children; two daughters and a son.

These three cheeky-monkies are my prized possessions and yet now, all grown up, they’re really not my possessions at all. All fiercely independent, thriving and happy. And they like each other which is a gift without measure!

That said, raising my children, (both with and without a spouse) is undoubtedly both the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Seriously, my heart swells when I think about how fun they are and how they are all so thoughtful and kind. But parenting is challenging and with the social schedules of all three combined, I always prayed that I was remembering to add the proverbial tools to their ever growing toolbox of life.

On a daily basis I thought about whether or not I was doing, supporting, feeding, encouraging or saying the right things. I.e.: Fruit roll ups kinda count as fruit in a pinch, right? Or, does encouraging the relationship that one child has with THREE imaginary friends, (Coo-coo, Rosie and Cement) put him at an advantage or DISadvantage compared to his sister who only had ONE (DoBots)? I’ve heard that imaginary friends are a sign of genius… so where does that leave the one who DIDN’T have any- is it wrong that we didn’t introduce her to Cement? In retrospect, there was always something crazy to obsess over.

Then there was the typical day in the life of me: Crazy schedules, extra-curricular activities, eating on the run, hormones (theirs AND mine!), testing boundaries for more independence (“Can I stay out after school?”) but not wanting to earn it (“Why do I have to help with the house cleaning?”), curfews, grocery shopping (with toddlers or hungry kids? Shoot me!), and did I mention hormones? And in the middle of raising them, I decided to throw in a lively divorce, a new house, dating (nightmare!), a new relationship and illness just in case the day-to-day stuff wasn’t enough to handle. It’s always something.

It’s all a blur now as two out of three have blossomed in their careers and my “baby” is in his last semester of college and the house is void of the beautiful chaos that accompanied those years.

I share this because, if you resonate with any of the craziness of parenting in this modern day and age, I want you to know that I get it. As parents, we worry. We hold onto (and cringe!) at the terrible parenting decisions we made during tough times, or times where we didn’t know better, then we hold ourselves hostage. Those events and beliefs shape our lives going forward. It is important for YOU to be able to identify and release those patterns that are not serving you now. We all have them. Well, everyone except Coo-Coo and Cement..