How to Find Your Mothering Zen

by Melissa Lapides, MA, MFT

motherhoodAs a mother, it is sometimes hard to find peace in a busy day. I am not just talking about the kind of peace that you experience by the few valued moments that you actually get to sit down and relax, but about the inner peace that makes you feel connected to your purpose in being a mother.

Sometimes you can get so caught up in the daily routines and emotions that it is hard to connect to what you are really working towards as a parent. Raising children can feel busy and repetitive at times and sometimes you can loose sight of what you are really trying to accomplish. Are you working towards how many activities you can successfully get your children to participate in or are you working towards raising your children to be self-confident, self-reliant adults. […]

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Musings…

by Josie Iselin

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A friend came over the other day with her one-year-old. She was struggling to feed her squirmy child and I instinctively held out an extra spoon for the little fist to grab.

“Every mother knows you need two spoons when feeding a one-year-old,” I thought. “One for baby, one for mom.”

But not everyone does know that simple rule. Hey, I’m an expert!

But an expert at a chapter of parenting that is past.  I’m floundering to find the simple rules for where I am now and glimpsing what’s to come with awe and wary anticipation. I’ll only become an expert after that part of the story is wrapped up — like the year of photos neatly edited into an album and set on the shelf.  (2006)

www.JosieIselin.com

 

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Misery Loves Company – A Mom’s Up and Down Journey

by Jane Samuel

beach chairsThis morning when I should have been tending to any number of things I hopped on Facebook. I knew I owed a few friends a recipe and was on my way to look up who in my messages tab when I decided to scroll down and see what was new on the “block.”  Since I only manage to get on Facebook about twice a week for a grand total of ten minutes – no, I am not cool –there is usually a lot new.

Amid the save-this-animal, clap-for-that-child, and find-this-funny was MotheringintheMiddle’s post:  Misery Loves Company.  Ah, this same tune had been playing over and over in my mind since 2013 poked its head in the door.

Misery sure does love company. […]

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Chicken Backs

by Ann Sheybani

When did we women decide that everyone else should come first? Who proclaimed it our job to guarantee the pleasure of others and settle for whatever crumbs fell off their plates?

I like to call this the Chicken Back Syndrome. Preparing a chicken dinner, encouraging our husbands and children to take the best pieces—the breast, thighs and legs—and insisting that we actually like the chicken back best. And somehow, without question, everyone believes we’re just loopy enough to crave bone and gristle. After awhile, we even convince ourselves that those tiny scraps of meat buried between the ribs are worth the effort. […]

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Being Elegant

by Casey Kochmer

I am going to practice being elegant… I will start with my daughter Mina by focusing more on time to play and not being such a parent all the time. […]

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Be Yourself

by Rachel Snyder

The journey of mothering is like no other

and it’s all too easy to get lost in it.

Right now, set a conscious intention

to carry every bit of who you are into your role as a mother.

Promise yourself that you will embrace your shortcomings and your missteps

and will never beat yourself up for doing the very best you can.

Once you settle into being your authentic self,

you cannot help but become a one-of-a-kind, original, remarkable mom.

Don’t compare yourself with any other mother you know,

including your own.

Your genuine mothering path will have a feel and flavor and tone

that are yours and yours alone

and it just may open you up in new and unexpected ways.

You may be happy and sad – all in the same day.

You may find yourself more creative, more expressive, more loving.

Other times you might feel angry and sometimes, yes,

you may very well be afraid.

Take these opportunities to know yourself more deeply.

Consider what feels right for you

as well as for your child.

To revel in being a mother,

you must first celebrate the unique and beautiful individual

that you are and always have been.

http://www.rachelsnyder.wordpress.com

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Healing (A Mother’s Journey)

by Rachel Snyder

A mother’s journey is to heal. From the moment you begin to contemplate life with children, you will come face to face with your thorniest unresolved issues. You will uncover ancient hurts around your own childhood and the mothering that was given you (or not). Embrace this singular opportunity for healing. Remain open to a flood of emotions and flow with them until you find a healing peace. Give yourself room to heal and know that you heal for those who came before you and those who now follow. Create new endings to old, tired stories of loss and betrayal. Inspire your children with new legacies and new, life-affirming ways. Take bold steps to change painful patterns passed down through generations. Seek out the medicine that strengthens you and take authority for your own healing. Every mother who heals herself, heals her children, too.

http://www.rachelsnyder.wordpress.com

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words for mothers: yesterday, today and tomorrow

by Rachel Snyder

Here are three pages from my book, 365 Words of Well-Being for Mothers (Contemporary/McGraw-Hill, 2003), which, alas, is currently out-of-print and generally available only in used or remainder copies. My own mother has taken up fragile residence in between worlds: here but not here, there but not there. She can’t express whether she remembers who any of us are, though I like to believe that in her deepest heart, she will never forget.

I always liked the thought that there are two kinds of people on the planet: those who are mothers — and those who have mothers. Whether you are one or the other or both, you may find resonance within these words. […]

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