Insights

I’m sitting on a sandy river beach watching my 8 year old son swim. Near by is a young family packing up to leave. The sun has set and it’s probably nearing bedtime for their young child. Mom and dad each encourage the little guy out of the water while also corralling their toddler.

The boy is resistant. “No!” is his clear response. Parents take turns engaging him, their body language becoming increasingly more forceful – standing legs spread, hands on hips. The boy stands his ground stronger as …

ONE:  There is no normal.  

Maybe there was one once but not anymore.  The new normal is every kid is unique.  Thankfully more and more safe space for this awareness is being created for kids to show up just as they are – true to self.  

What this means for parents –

We get to let ourselves off the hook of fixing, shaping, correcting, coercing, and ushering our kids into boxes that don’t work for them.  

Instead, we get to hold space for their truth discovery journey.  Sometimes that means h…

My son suggested an after-dark hike last night. And I said yes.

I was tired.  My bedtime is early these days.  I had been awake for 16 hours already. My bed was calling.  

But this had been an idea of his for awhile and I wanted to honor his desire.  Plus, something about it called to me too.

We drove out to one of our nearby spots on a bluff overlooking the river - a magical place, protected, peaceful, full of wildflower wisdom. No other two-leggeds were there.

The temperature was just ri…

Why does this keep happening?

Ever had this thought?

Maybe you and child get into the same power struggles again and again.

Maybe there’s an emotional fault line in your relationship that you and your significant other consistently fall into when life gets stressful.

Maybe there’s a health or financial issue that cycles around for you once or twice a year.

If you’ve been there, so has your child, and you’re all in good company.  This experience is ubiquitous in our human condition.

Commonl…

One night, 17 years ago I felt that first telltale wave of energy move through my body and knew my baby was coming.
Typical Aries, he was 3 weeks early and I wasn't ready.

It wasn't good timing.
There was a big rainstorm in the external and a big heart-storm in my internal.
I whispered my requests to this young one,
'not tonight, please not tonight, how about next week'?
He said nope and carried on.

The storms converged in my body for 8 hours.
I gave myself over to the birthing process
Got loud a…

(transcript below)

I heard him say just loudly enough for me to hear, "The only thing I owe you is my freedom."

I cringed when I first heard his words, believing them to be selfish and cruel, unconcerned about others. 

"Oh, that's not selfish."  I blurted out, realizing what he'd actually meant.  "If all I owe others is my freedom, what I'm really saying is that my every action comes from within me and has no hidden agenda, demands no reciprocation, and carries no expectations.  Whatever I do,…