Just Ask Alice

We are mothers. We all have stories to share.

An excerpt from “Parenting Through Relationship” for you:

In honor of YOU for Mother’s Day, and in honor of the most difficult and rewarding job you are in the midst of, and in honor of the village it takes to support a mother well, here are a few stories of mine to bring a smile to your face, a bit of understanding to your heart, a chance to feel all the good company you have as you move along your parenting journey…

…being sleep deprived for months on end and trying once, for one hour on one evening, to let my baby cry herself to sleep.

…being blown out of the water by the transition from a terrific two-year-old to an out-of-bounds, testing, cranky 3-year-old (and here I was supposed to ‘know’ what to do, since this IS my profession!) and crying on her preschool teacher’s shoulders as I struggled with this chaos presented to me.

…totally confused over what consequence I needed to impart to ‘make my child behave.’

…captivated by how my little ones explored, how absorbed they were in little things like lids on containers, buds on bushes, dried up moose poop and how it crumbles when you squash it 

…being in tears over the mean girl stuff and hurt feelings my elementary girls found themselves in the midst of…and wondering what I needed to do. That was a really tough one.

…having times of sheer frustration of THAT TONE of my teen, of the eye rolling, the sarcasm, the desire for greater independence (which meant I had to calm myself down and let go of the control I so wished I could hang on to!).

…being totally delighted as I watched my girls in any and all of their endeavors–whether it was organized sports, a neighborhood capture the flag game, music performances, a teen party that ended in a pool-noodle-whack-fest.

...praying with my husband that our two young adult daughters were safe and sound even though they were hours overdue and up in the snowy mountains of Oregon.

…standing by my NO–and caving in just as often.

...struggling with leaving my young daughters with their first babysitter…oh heck, just finding the babysitter I could trust completely!! No one is like mom…right?

...being unable to tear my eyes away from my (finally!) sound asleep and simply adorable babies–even thought I had a ton of chores to catch up on!

…staying up w-a-y too late just to actually have a quiet conversation with my husband and paid for it by exhaustion the next day. Oh, but it was worth it. So was conquering the always growing pile of laundry. Felt good, waking up the next day with THAT job out of the way.

I’ve laughed, cried, relished, cherished, fought, yelled, hugged, fallen asleep while reading endless piles of books, and was a short order cook on many occasions. Just like each of you. My stories are how I got to where I am now, to being able to share with you, support and encourage you, hopefully inspire you. Your stories can do the same for others.

Parenting is simply the most rewarding and most difficult

job we will ever do; we need each other to carry us along.

I hope you will consider me a part of YOUR village. My work is here to support, encourage, and empower YOU.

Make YOUR Mother’s Day as special as you are.