Thanks to all of you mothers who shared your support and wisdom with me on my last post! Sometimes feeling vulnerable is a scary place to be, and yet there is so much comfort in connecting with other women brave enough to speak their truth.

Inside Out ended on Friday and it was another amazing experience!  I’m now enjoying a chill weekend with the boys and with no set plans.  Yesterday we stayed in jammies and I let them lead almost every moment of our day.  It was pretty fascinating.  I notice my tendency to want to avoid playing trains (yet again) or my need to feel productive by folding clothes or making meals.  So I let those feelings come up but really tried not to act on them.  After pancake breakfast we had a puppet show, we played in the closet and we set up trains.  My 4-year-old wanted me to be the conductor and told me to “talk like a man.”  I crawled around on the floor.  I didn’t try cleaning or straightening up along the way. And I let the kids mess up every room in the house for the entire day.

It was fun.  It was surprisingly restoring.  At the end of the day as I was getting dinner together Kestan said, with an endearing, beaming smile, “Mom, tell me a story.”  And my eyes filled with tears.  In that moment I looked at him and saw the man that he will one day become.  I know he won’t always say these words to me.  And although I was feeling tired, I stopped, sat down beside him and we made up a story together (a favorite activity of ours – but all too often I can say, “Oh honey, not now”).  Not this time.

One of our family rituals is to talk about our days at dinnertime.  When we started to eat Kestan said, “Mom, tell me about your day.”  So I shared parts and pieces of my favorite moments.  Then, it was my turn to ask him. “Kestan, tell me about your day.”  And with confidence and a matter-of-fact attitude, he replied, “Mom, my day is now.”

Like I’ve said before, our kids know things.

And when we slow down enough to listen, they teach us how to live.  Laugh Play Love is really what it’s all about.

The winners of the three spots in my new Mothering with heART online community are:

Mandy, Rae and Joy!

And a print of my heart painting goes to:

Erin!

Congratulations to you all!  Please email me for the details!  livefreely@mac.com

Your Personal Reflection:  

Slow down a little today and let your kids or the wind lead the way.