School of Mom

Portrait by Mama S

Things my children have taught me:

The importance of play, even for grown-ups
How to inject new life and meaning into household tasks/chores
A whole new pleasure in cooking for (and with!) my family
How to view everything like it’s fresh and new
How to slow down
How to lower my expectations of perfection (from myself)
How to be okay with not being on time sometimes
How to be creative and make art every single day
To enjoy sewing!
To be thrifty and frugal
Patience that I never thought I’d have
How to laugh at myself
To turn inward and really work on my own struggles
To respect money and resources
That I want to be a writer, who writes books for them to enjoy
To be reverent and terrified of the passage of time
That there are one million outlets for my imagination
That their opinion of me is the only one that matters (after my own)
How to melt away my hard exterior
To (always try to) speak with love and respect even when I’m feeling frustrated or tired
That their ideas, insights, theories and notions are often more touching, profound, brilliant and pithy than those of most adults I know
That I am a good mother and dedicated parent
How to (strive to) make them feel how loved and cherished they are all of the time
That I belong somewhere, to someone
That my family, in all of it’s quirky, evolving, unusual glory is the most important thing in the world to me
That their amazing, delightful, beautiful selves are proof positive that I am good and doing something good for the world

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