I do not claim to be a
parenting expert. I don’t prescribe to
an absolute theory or method. I go
mostly by my intuition, assessing results, and making the necessary
adjustments.
I repeat this process
many times. Many, many times.
But the one thing that I
feel that I am doing right is telling my kids to practice kindness.
I don’t like telling
them to be nice because if they aren’t nice, then it is implied that they are
bad. And I am just not comfortable with
that.
So instead I say, “Practice
kindness.” Sometimes you nail it,
sometimes you don’t. And as the wise
Happy Monster Band says, “Practice makes progress.” You can just try again.
I am going to take my
own advice and practice kindness towards myself, which is my theme for 2014.
I totally push myself
all the time – to keep my blog afloat, to keep my teaching deadlines, to keep
my mental and physical health in check, to be present for my kids. And I love the feeling of fitting it in – it
is an adrenaline high for me. But that
adrenaline high only lasts so long. And
once it is quickly gone, I am tired and wished I had been gentler with
myself. Yet being kind to myself is always
last on my list.
Well, kindness and
sleep.
In January, I am
exhausted, lost in a haze of balancing holiday madness and everyday stuff. I usually just power through and fight the
urge to rest. But this January, practicing
kindness means making sure I get enough sleep.
Nothing trips up my perspective more than not getting enough sleep. Ironically, it is the first thing I cut when
things get hectic.
This month, I am going
to make sleep a priority. That will
probably mean more hat days and less makeup, and I am totally OK with
that. I am really looking forward to
seeing how I feel after a month of being well rested. Because I seriously can’t remember what that
feels like.
Do you have a theme for
2014? Do you have any goals that you are
working on? I’d love to hear about them.
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