The Messy Mess

This parenting thing is messy, even for those of us who have made a profession of working with children and families. Those, like me, who believe and who have witnessed they have a slight grip on the fabric of emotional development still wrestle with our own emotional reactivity. When it comes to our own life, some of the strategies applied in our profession melt into a greater framework of emotions that are catalysts for our own conscious growth; growth in consciousness being a never ending process as that is what the purpose of life is for.

It is my turn to walk into the fire with my blossoming almost 10 year old. To know that I can remain calm and steady, and also find myself emotionally triggered and reactive does not make me a fraud, it makes me human.

I take on this opportunity to grow myself emotionally through the relationship I have with my beautiful and exquisite gift of a daughter. I can default to an old program of fear and consequence related outcome, or I can pause to gain perspective and then come back to conveying what is true to my heart; allowing my truth to be shared with her which is that I too am learning. I can let her know that it is my highest priority to nurture and hold true to my intention to become more emotionally mature in my own humanity as that is what it means when one takes on the role of parenthood. I can also convey that I allow her to be the greatest version of herself possible by not allowing my expectations to get in the way of her heart, which mean sometimes letting her stumble and learn from her mistakes.

You see, when I release the need to defend I welcome the possibility to bond. And that is the ultimate purpose of parenting. To bond and love like never before.

You may be asking why I am choosing to share this intimate detail verses marketing my professional expertise. I share this because I want to be real. I share this because I want to embrace my life experiences of being a parent, and to invite all of us to know that we are in this together. And, I want to set aside any fear that I may have so that I walk to the truth of my heart, which I know is here to grow and become more love.

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