This is for every mama doing her absolute best. Who simply shows up and continues to try… no matter the hand dealt. This is a reminder that your best can look different on any given day… and it’s no less impressive or praise worthy.
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Parenting
About ten minutes before we needed to leave the house, I decided to finally buckle down and wake the sleeping giant. She kept her eyes closed and maintained dead weight as I sat her up, pulled her to the edge of the bed, and did a 10-second count down asserting the amount of time she had left if she wanted to choose her own outfit versus forfeiting her right to autonomy. (In hindsight, I recognize that this was one of my biggest mistakes. Like an amateur… I opted into a power struggle with a tired six-year-old.)
For the first time, I contemplated beating Zora. I needed her to know that not only did she try it - she disappointed me. She scared me. She acted outside of the good sense God and intentional parenting granted her… Zora, in all of her “four and a half” years of age, lacked discernment. I’d been praying for the ability to recognize when I’m operating within or beyond God’s will, and there was my baby girl running freely in disobedience, demanding the grace I request on the daily.
For all the advice offered on character building and potty training, there’s little to no guidance on how to protect our children from online hackers. Never mind that child identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States.
My leisure time is pretty limited these days, so every second counts. I've very much been honoring my vibe and asking myself "WWJamilaDo?" (note: Jamila is my MOST carefree girlfriend, who makes a point of never involving herself in something she doesn't want to be doing.) Though I'm missing the abundance of down time, I appreciate it requiring me to be intentional about how and with whom I invest my energy. My thoughts haven't been coming to me in ways that I can't properly relay in a succinct post, but before forgetfulness wins and I blink and find myself at Zora's next party, I want to document the little things happening these days that make me feel full.. or make me say, "Damn. I'm really raising a little human."
"The effort it requires. Every woman you see nursing didn't happily waltz into an easy rhythm w/ her feeding baby. Zora latched well from the beginning. That doesn't negate the 3 painful weeks it took for my breasts to adjust or the horror stories I heard prior to that created self doubt. Never mind engorgement, blocked ducts, pumping, timing alcohol consumption, & going back to work."