We Survived The TeensWe Survived The TeensRamblings and Reminiscences of a Crazy-Wisdom Grandma
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Migraines And The Magic Man
2007-07-07 23:06:00 Since my teens, I've always been intrigued with alternative holistic healthcare. I got trained as a massage therapist at age 19, took herbs, became a vegetarian. I started studying midwifery at age 23 and learned about all sorts of alternative modalities. I will use an allopath, and think they are vital for things such as broken bones, infections, emergency treatments. But for day to day stuff, cumulative prophylactic stuff, I avoid them.My kids hardly ever went to allopathic doctors growing up. Because I was new at being a parent and didn't know any better, my oldest daughter started to get the routine physicals, but that didn't last long. My younger two kids didn't even see MD's except if I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Or if I deemed they needed a perscription. They never had antibiotics until they were in their teens. If they got colds, it was herbs, and remedies. They lived. If my kids had something I couldn't figure out how to treat or if I wanted help, I took the... More About: Magic , Grain
So Sad
2007-06-28 22:42:00 A man I used to date called last night. He and I had a very short relationship about 10 years ago. We didn't stay together nearly as long as his kids and I did.When we met, I felt a connection one of his older daughters. She ended up pregnant and in an unhappy relationship. Her apartment wasn't that far from my home. As she was miserable, I invited her and her baby to live with me. They stayed for about six months. Then her younger sister started hanging out lots at our house, befriending my youngest daughter, even though they were a few years apart. She ended up spending lots of time with us, too, although never fully moving in. Both girls ended up ultimately using me, but, truth is, I knew this was a possibility before taking them into my family and heart. People who have no inner structure have nothing to share outside them.One of the reasons I tried to be there for the kids was because I could see they were all lost souls due to really sad, neglectful parenting on both paren... More About: Unconditional Love
It must be a sign of the times in Hollywood that ...
2007-06-26 18:28:00 It must be a sign of the times in Holl ywood that I can't find too many good films to watch when I go to the video store. I end up getting odd documentaries on Religion and kids. The last one was about Jesus Camp, this round it was a film about the Roman Catholic Church pedophilia crisis. The film is called "Deliver Us From Evil." I was raised a Catholic, went to Catholic school until fourth grade. Until the age if eight or so, I was sure I was going to be a nun. Although I left the Church in my teens, I have no animosity toward it. In fact, I appreciate that I grew up one as in the 60's it was the only religion in the Midwest that I knew of that had a highly developed ritual component and some recognition of the feminine in it. Sexuality and Spirituality are the two topics I spend most of my mind pondering. Where and how the two interesect are my greatest areas of interest and academic study. My BA is in Religious Studies and I have lots of training in wholistic approaches to Sexu... More About: Sign , Times , The Times
Family Eats
2007-06-22 19:17:00 I became a vegetarian at age 17 then married a meat eater. I was also into holistic stuff when we got together, very tuned into nutrition and all that stuff from my midwifery. As the years went on, I got kind of obnoxious about the kids' diets. They hardly ever got sugar. They only had 100% real juice in their school lunchs, homemade fruit rolls made with honey for dessert, whole wheat bread only, carrot sticks. They ate real foods, pretty devoid of chemicals, additives, dyes and crap.They didn't really complain (much) at first. I would feed them all sorts of complex vegetarian culinary masterpieces. I learned over time that kids prefer simple foods. As time went on and they were increasingly introduced to the world outside our family, the arguments began. It got to the point that the only real tension we had was around sugar and junk food consumption. It occurred to me that I was setting up an unconscious pattern with food for them that had the potential to affect their lives. Go... More About: Family , Nutrition
Family Dynamics
2007-06-14 21:19:00 I suppose every family has their version of them. When Morgan was born, she and Starla got along well, or at least tolerably well. That is until Morgan woke up around age seven or so and stopped doing what Starla wanted her to. The antagonism between Morgan and Cass started when Cass was one day old. Morgan sweetly sat on the couch all propped so she would be able to safely hold Cass. The minute Cass hit Morgan's lap she started to scream. That's pretty much explains what it's been since then. Morgan bugs Cass.It's so funny....if Morgan and Starla are together, everyone is fine. If Starla and Cass are together, everyone is fine. If all four of us are together, we immediately revert into this weird sort of charicature of our worst, most dysfunctional traits. What is THAT all about?It helps that Morgan and Cass only see each other twice a year or so now. It can actually go a few days before they twitch out and we all start the pattern, which looks like this:Morgan is Emotional Dra... More About: Family , Dynamics , Dynamic , Nami
Support Your Local Midwife
2007-06-11 21:12:00 Since I used to be one, I know what the life is like. And though a good midwife will never tell you what she goes through, I feel I have the right to do so to remind us all that everyone needs recognition from time to time. These women really do.Midwives do what they do because they love it and are committed on a very deep level. It's a calling. It has to be because the life is so intense that there has to be some compelling reason to put yourself through all that you do to be of service to the families. Imagine, if you will, the responsibility of knowing that lives are in your hands. That even if you do everything "right" that you have no control over the events of a birth and the "karma" (if you will) of a family. Since midwives, obviously, care about Life, to have something go "wrong" even when they know they've done their best, just about puts many a midwife over the edge. It's a huge stress. That stress NEVER goes away.If they live in a state that prosecutes midwives for doi... More About: Support , Local , Loca
Don't You Love It When
2007-06-08 20:08:00 ....the daughter who, three years ago, was telling you she is entitled to: A cell phone with unlimited texting and minutes A computer with scanner/copier and all the CD's she wants to burn An MP3 player A car of her choice All the clothes she wants ...is now a politically active, culturally aware almost twenty year old who is paring down to live a simple life? No more car. Simple cell phone plan. Buys organic. Reads politically leftist subversive books. Takes a stand on gender, peace, cultural, racist issues. Wow. Trust me, if this conversion can happen anything is possible. Just another miracle we get to observe as we watch them transform and transmute. Rainbow picture taken from hereAngel from here More About: Love , Love it
Who's In Control??
2007-06-06 18:42:00 I know that we, as parents, have to assume a position of authority. Our kids like to have the security of feeling that someone is in control. I have been blessed with kids who had their moments of challenge, but none of my kids has never gone off the deep end. None of them got so unruly or disrespectful that they got lost and out of control.The experts might look at this and say that it was because of the way I disciplined them. Could be. I have my opinions about how to get kids to the point where they listen, especially when young (talked about here). It could be that by raising them the way I did, that they learned how to behave, got a sense of themselves, and didn't act out too much. But those same "experts" wouldn't agree with my parenting style...in fact the way I parented was quite contrary to most of what they suggest to parents to avoid the behavior they are trying to prevent.After watching lots of kids and parents, I do notice certain styles that tend to result in more be... More About: Control
Scariest Movie I've Ever Seen
2007-05-29 19:11:00 If done tastefully and with some sort of deeper thinking involved, I love a good scary movie from time to time. "Jurassic Park" made me think about science. "28 Days Later" was an amazing film. I love the old Hitchcock thrillers.This movie, however, was, by far, the most frightening movie I have ever seen.I fancy myself an extremely respectful person in regards to people's choices about their religion and spiritual paths. In fact, spirituality is such an important subject to me that I got my MA in Religious Studies. Even though none of these are my personal spiritual path, I have respect for Muslims, Pagans, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Voudoins, Wiccans. My basic motto with religious choice is: "The flowers on the petal are many, but the flower is one."From the movie's homepage:"A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the cause of their religious... More About: Movies , Movie , Aries
Carnivals
2007-05-29 17:52:00 There are a couple of Carnivals I submitted to this last week and got published in...eeeahhhaaaa!!!....The first is the Carnival of Family Life for which I submitted my article on Teens and Sex. It's being hosted by a wonderful woman named Janie over at Colloquium.The other articles submitted are:Jack Yoest of Yoest.com presents Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery.Cory Aldrich of Marriage Actually presents Holiday Negotiations.mom&dad of raising4boys.com present How Not to Coach a Kids? Soccer Team.Kerri of Play Library presents Dangerous Pool Toys.Jordan of MamaBlogga presents Five Things Moms Do RightLaura Young of Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life presents When Your Old Self and New Self are out of Sync: Social Drag.Karen Flores of Karen Flores presents By the word of their testimony - More Read AloudsJenny-Up the Hill of Up the Hill Gang presents Up the Hill Gang: 10 Days.Holly Schwendiman of Holly's Corner Blog presents We Made It!.Silicon Valley Blogger of The Diger...
Telling The Kids About Drugs
2007-05-25 16:51:00 Controversial topic, I know. Abuse of them can lead to all sorts of lifelong problems, throwing people into places that are very difficult to extricate themselves from. All three of my girls experimented with drugs in their teens: alcohol, pot, LSD, crack or crank (don't remember which one), mushrooms. Probably ecstasy. I'm not sure, but I don't think they've done heroin or angel dust. I am here to report they did not die, none of them does drugs regularly now. I don't get that any of them did as many drugs as I did when their age. Although Morgan did quite a few for awhile, none of them has become addicted to anything, all have experimented and are pretty done with them for the most part, barring occasional pot with two of them and some drinking from time to time as partying folk do. But even that has slowed down. As Morgan and I were saying one time...partying can be a cultural a rite of passage of sorts these days. It's "cute" to end up puking when you're 19. At 22 it's l... More About: Kids , Drugs , The Kids , Drug , The Kid
Carnival of Family Life
2007-05-23 20:36:00 An article of mine was included at The Carnival of Family Life over at Be A Good Dad. There are tons of good posts and I'm sure you will find something to connect with in these posts. As I am fairly new to this genre of blogs here in Blogland, I am appreciating being introduced to some lovely writers. I have chosen to just cut and paste the whole carnival here for easy reference as I have seen other Carnivals do...enjoy!!!Karen presents Appreciating Mothers, Not Just THE Day posted at Write From Karen.Garret presents So I just joined Myspace posted at Need to Get Some.Lori Radun, CEC presents Finding Peace in Letting Go posted at The Mom Coach.Melitsa presents What?s in the bag? posted at Play-Activities.com.Maureen presents Trinity Prep School - Name That Tude?. posted at Trinity Prep School.Tricia presents You?re Not Fat, You?re Wonderful posted at Blogging Away Fat.Erica Douglas presents Stop Trying To Be a Perfect Parent posted at Littlemummy.Com.alfaking presents Born again ... More About: Family Life
Fancy Hair
2007-05-20 16:55:00 Parents always need to have a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses in order to remain conscious about what they do effects their kids. When Starla was about 3, I learned I cannot do hair. Some things will ever remain a mystery to me.My poor girls. They were young when people were doing all sorts of fancy braids, flip ups, creative ponytails. There were fancy things to do with multiple butterfly hair clips, small bows, bands, toothed thingies, barretts. Options in our household were hair down, or in a straight ponytail. I couldn't even get the two ponytails thing right.It's not that I didn't try. They would come to me with a brush, some hair ties and frilly-dillies with a sweet trusting look on their cute little faces. Each time I would remind them of my lack of ability in this department. Each time they would assure me that I did fine and PLEEEEEASE would I just do their hair. I would. It would look awful, but they would tell me it looked grand. When I picked ... More About: Motherhood , Hair , Fancy
Homebirth Twilight Zone
2007-05-15 21:38:00 I was a midwife from 1980-1986. For anyone with bad math skills that's at least 25 years. The reason I say that is because I am reading homebirth blogs and I feel like I am in 1980 on one on the homebirth "debate."Why are the issues that we dealt then with still the issues? What's happened? Or hasn't happened?About midway through being a midwife, Vaginal Birth After Cesareans were just starting to be acceptable. By the time I stopped, there was hope. I thought they had become commonplace, but I now find out that it's WORSE than it was back then. WTF???The same bloody arguments, which we all know aren't true, are still be used to justify taking away a woman's right to choose the attendant and location of her birth...or at least attempting to shame her as an unfit parent, murderer or abuser. One upside is that I think it's easier to find a midwife now. I know in California you can find a midwife licensed by the state and not have to fear about anything. When I did a search onli... More About: Twilight Zone , Zone , Twilight
Happy Mother's Day
2007-05-14 04:30:00 There is a picture book I saw when I was in my early 20's. I don't remember it's title or author/photographer. The book started with a picture of a grandfather in his prime holding his diapered baby grandson in his arms. Each page in the book was a chronicle of both growing older. The boy grew older, taller, stronger. The Grandfather grew older, shorter, weaker. By the end of the book he was in a room alone, with a diaper on. The last pictures were of the grandson holding the diapered grandfather.This book stays with me. It's about life.On this Mother's Day, I have two daugthers who have let me know that I can count on them to make sure my diapers are changed when I am an old woman....and they were even sober when they made the promise. While neither has committed to doing the job full time themselves, they let me know that if I ever get to the point of needing that kind of care, they will be there for me.I can think of no greater gift for a child to give a parent. I am blessed... More About: Motherhood , Happy , S Day
More Letting Go.....
2007-05-10 21:25:00 When Cass was young, her sisters would always tell me she was lying and making up stories. When I would listen to her I would always have these unbidden feelers go up. Something wasn't quite right here...was it a lie?.....what's going on here? I watched her, trying to figure it out. What I came up with was an intuitive hit that she wasn't lying....she just saw the world differently and so thought what she was saying was true. I tried to explain it to her sisters, but they weren't going for it. To this day, I don't know if she was or not.But I have carried this with me. I hold on particularly because of a couple of incidents that supported my idea.The most informative one was during a Christmas season. She was five and we were living in the country. Her sisters were at some function and we had to hang out around town waiting. Since we had time to kill, I asked her if she wanted to go to the mall so she could do her shopping for her sisters' presents. Her reply was that she didn... More About: Children , Letting , More
Teens and Sex
2007-05-08 18:46:00 Cass took a Sociology of Sexuality class in college last semester. This is interesting, I says to myself...what a pleasant surprise. At the beginning of the class, they were to write a paper on things that influenced their sexuality. Part of the paper was to talk about how their parents' views on sex impacted them. She asked me to proof her paper so I got to see a piece of how she sees herself.She felt that she had an odd experience growing up because her parents came from totally opposite perspectives in the sexual realm. Her perception of us is that her father is a Christian and says that sex is only OK in marriage. Her mother (that would be me), on the other hand, will sleep anything with a hole or protuberance (animal, vegetable, mineral, human) walking down the street whether she knows them/it or not. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. I thought that really interesting.Cass is somewhere in the middle of her perceptions of her parents. She says that she has to ... More About: Teens
Children's Books by Barbara Berger
2007-05-07 05:01:00 I am a bookaholic and spent lots of time in stores when my kids were young, trying to find books that touched me and that I would be willing to read over and over. To tell the truth, I look from time to time in bookstores these days I am not finding anything that matches what was around when my kids were little.Barbar a Berg er never disappointed. All her books were among my kids' favorites. The texts are gentle, like a breath of soft air. The illustrations glow.These are some of the ones we have:Grandfather Twilight, above, is the story of a kind man who takes one pearl from a string every evening and walks through a magical forest to the sea, the pearl growing with every step.When the Sun Rose is a sweet story of imaginary friends who meet in a secret playhouse. Gwinna is a book for older kids and talks about transformation and being proud of who you are.The Donkey's Dream is a beautiful retelling of the Nativity.And Animalia is an exquisite book for kids mid-aged. It has a number... More About: Books
The G Word
2007-05-05 20:32:00 Christmas five years ago, my oldest daughter, Starla and I were in the kitchen. She looked at me and earnestly said: "Mom, I want you to start getting ready and preparing yourself emotionally because Kevin and I want to have a baby."She knew I was going to have a difficult time identifying myself as "grandmother." Back then, I was subracting a year from my age every birthday. My kids got so used to it, they have no idea how old I am today.One thing was sure, though, I didn't want to be hearing "Grandma" or any other other G words every day. The closest one that might possibly have worked was Grandee, which I guess is the Brit form. But my mom had used that one and I got superstitious about it (she died). We settled on Nona. Yes, it's the Italian word for Grandmother, but I don't speak the language it doesn't have the same associations for me.So two years after that conversation in the kitchen, I was two years younger. On my birthday that year, I got to help Kailyb birth. I was t... More About: Word , The G
Telling The Kids About The Divorce
2007-05-02 23:15:00 Like most couples, my ex and I had a difficult time coming to our decision to divorce because of having kids. Breaking up a family is not an easy thing to do and I don't know anyone who has done so lightly.I have no idea what works for other families. In our case, we weren't loudly screaming at each other 24/7. But the relationship had died and there was constant and consistent tension. We were miserable. We were on different paths and couldn't find a way to walk side by side. We had no common tools, no reference point for bridging the gap that years of distance had created. Even though we were getting along better a the time of our decision than we had in years, we were done.At the point of decision, we were in accord. But how to tell the kids? And when? We knew we wanted to wait until summer vacation so that they would have time to adjust without having school considerations. It was March when we decided to divorce. That left three months. Patrick wanted to wait to tell them. I... More About: Divorce , Kids , The Kids , The Kid , The D
When Your Kids Won't Eat Spinach
2007-05-01 20:54:00 Really truly they will like this. I won't say I promise, but I will say that most anyone in the world loves this. It's devoured at potlucks by kids of all ages...even ones that don't like veggies. When I made this for my family, I always made a huge tray....the kids ate most of it. Even though they are grown, they always fight for more when I fix it these days. When Starla was about 3, she ate half of the tray all by herself. And now her son follows in her footsteps. It's that good.3 eggs6TB of flour. I often use gluten free or rice/oat mix.A couple of pounds of washed spinach1 1/2c cottage cheese (small curd is best)Cheddar cheese....I use about two cupsWheat germ (optional)Tamari/Soy Sauce (if you are gluten free, be sure to check if it's wheat free)Great for a food processor. Chop up spinach. You will have to do this in batches. When done chopping, put eggs and flour in then whiz until blended. Add cottage cheese, but only spin until it is mixed (about two seconds) because y... More About: Kids , Spin , Spinach , Nach
Seeing
2007-04-30 18:35:00 I am remembering a time with Morgan. She was a junior in high school (wow..not that long ago, really). She was taking way too many classes, was working and volunteering. All this means she was way over extended. Stress was the order of the day.And as such, as in all living situations where we feel safe enough to be mean, she was being a major bitch most of the time.One day, I remember being at her bedroom door. For whatever reason, she was having a teen temper tantrum. Immediately I felt my walls go up. I started to engage. Then I looked at my baby. I went inside her to what was underneath the yelling. I flashed on what I feel like when I feel what she was acting out.I breathed, I looked at her and I asked: "Do you need a hug?"Stop.She catches her breath, looks shocked, her eyes burning into mine. I see her body twitch, her face contort as she breaks into sobs. I held her for a long long time until she was done.I wish I could remember the power of seeing deeper in every situation wh... More About: Seeing
Breakfast With Cass
2007-04-29 21:33:00 We don't hang out much. Even though she still lives at home, we have our separate lives. She's a busy college student, I am focused on work. Plus, we have our dynamic that gets in the way.We had it again at breakfast. For the most part, we just talked, laughed and had a good time. At one point it almost slipped over the edge, but we caught our dynamic at work, changed the subject in enough time to let it go. I wish it wasn't there. Darnit..it shows up when I least expect it and it catches me off guard. Whenever I don't agree with her or have any sort of suggestion or difference in viewpoints, she sees it me criticizing her. As I'm just talking like I would with anyone else, I don't guard myself for her reaction. I step into it more than I want to. I lose my inner balance with her in ways that are unique to our relationship- this dynamic doesn't exist with anyone else on the planet."How is school going?""Fine. I am going to have to apply for financial aid again soon so just ... More About: Breakfast , Fast , Brea
Getting Out Of The Way
2007-04-27 19:52:00 My middle daughter, Morgan, is in Germany right now, living her dreams being an actor. Her part is in German. She doesn't speak German. Before she left she was working at it lots to get the part down but was struggling. She's doing the project with a young man she sees as her soul mate. They were having issues before she went over. She was worried about losing time at work, how she was going to be able to keep up with her bills, worried about the part, had stress all the way around. She kept calling me to talk it through and I, for the most part, would keep my mouth shut. But at one point, I felt I had to ask her why she was going.Before she left, I was feeling protective. I was worried for her, made sure she had the calling card before she left because I was "sure" she was going to be continually calling me in pain like she's done for so many years. She still believes she needs my support to keep emotionally balanced.This morning, while walking with my good friend, I was recalli... More About: Motherhood , Trust
The Thing About Organic Food Is.....
2007-04-25 19:45:00 Moths!!!!The little buggers are everywhere! I've taken pride over the years in buying organic foods. I buy my organic grains, flours, all my spices, lots of my teas in bulk. I learned long ago from smaller infestations to put everything in the freezer a few days before storing, but even with that precaution I have the worst crop of them EVER!I have those little sticky traps in the kitchen, the garage and the library. They are supposed to last three months and mine last three weeks. The sticky stuff gets all fuzzy from their little death throw flutterings and no longer traps their friends. I spend time every few hours walking around with my broom squishing them while imagining myself to be Our Old Friend, The Grim ReaperOr.....Hecate, the Goddess of Death.I've searched high and low for their food source, scoured out shelves, checked here and there and I cannot find what keeps them here. It's been suggested that I am attracting them from the pheremones in the traps so now I keep al... More About: Fun , Food , Organic food , Organic , Thing
My Birth Stories
2007-04-24 20:04:00 But not my birth pictures*..... Starla's Birth I was not in tune with my body at all. As I had been anorexic awhile in high school, I had a history of missed periods. So when I got pregnant with her, I was such a ditz, I didn't even think pregnancy a consideration. My breasts changed, my nipples were darker. But it wasn't until my sixth month when I got back from a hitchhiking trip with my husband and was lying in bed, put my hand on my belly and felt a big bump and said..hm...it's either a baby or I have cancer. We got drunk the next afternoon when we got the positive pregnancy test back. I was a smoker and a drinker that pregnancy. My first question was "how the hell does one even BE pregnant in this country? (meaning what were the steps in getting a doctor, and all the basic life skills it involved). Like I said...not that connected....and I will now add not tremendously conscious.It didn't seem like I was pregnant too long (well...because I wasn't conscious of it too long)... More About: Stories , Tori
The What If? Game
2007-04-24 04:32:00 My Dad used to be a lawyer who fancied himself a philosopher. Some of my favorite memories of him are when he used to try and get us to think. He would always try to "train our minds" by continually taking the Devil's advocate position.When my kids were growing up, I took this theme and created a game with them that I named the "What If?" game. Basically, I would give them a scenario that would involve having to make an ethical judgment call.One day, Morgan and I were doing something, can't remember for the life of me what it was."Mom...want to play the What If? Game ?""Sure.""What if someone came to you and told you that you had to choose one of your kids to have killed? That one had to die and you had to choose. Which one of us would you choose?""The one who asked a question like this in the What If? game." More About: Fun
Morgan
2007-04-22 19:57:00 taken from here My middle daughter, Morgan , is an arteest. She's primarily into theatre, although she also paints and writes fabulously. After she graduated from High School, she moved to LA to pursue her lifelong dreams of "making it." She went to an Arts Academy then started working at a coffee shop to support herself. She joined a theatre troupe. Most of the others in the troupe are older and more experienced than she is. She went through lots when she first started. She felt inadequate. Part of her process was that she had to come to terms with her anger around the fact that I was too busy to be a "soccer mom" when she was young. Not that she was into soccer, but I didn't cart her to various voice, dance and acting lessons when she was a kid.In the end, she took the high road and remembered that people will create their lives in the ways they want them. There are plenty of people who get a later start in life and to sit and blame the past gets you nowhere. She's a pretty amaz... More About: Organ
When Starla Grew Up
2007-04-21 18:58:00 photo taken from hereMy girls are extremely different people. None of them has finished high school in a traditional way.Starla, the eldest, was 15 when we divorced. She dealt with it emotionally by shutting down. She would spend days reading, in what we called "her nest." It was a corner she would make with pillows and a blanket. She would grab some food and get lost in her world.Originally, our child custody agreement was that the kids would spend one week with my ex, then one week with me. When Starla was with me, she would miss at least one day per week of school. She needed the time at home to have full attention on her, to be able to heal. I talked to her school counselor, told her what was going on and it was agreed that as long as she kept up with her school work, it would be fine to continue. It was great--all I had to do was to call the counselor, tell her that Starla needed a home day and she would clear it. Sometimes she missed three days a week. But she kept her grades ... More About: Thoughts , Trust , Grew
Choosing Motherhood
More articles from this author:2007-04-20 17:31:00 I've always loved my girls. None of them were planned pregnancies. I've always called them "gifts." I love them, cared for them in the best ways I knew how and always put them first. But it wasn't until after my divorce that I truly embraced motherhood as a conscious choice.After my ex and I separated, I was involved in a number of personal growth workshops. Many of them were in the Bay Area (I live in Northern California). I had always lived my life for others and was ready to live fully without being tied to anyone or anything.This started to seep over into my feelings toward my children. Many of the others who participated in the workshops had left their families, making a break from their past in all sorts of ways. I had a few judgments about some of the women. It flipped me out that a Mother could choose to abandon her children. The more I looked at myself in those judgments, the more I saw that I was judging them because I felt trapped.Part of inner growth work involves bei... More About: Motherhood , Sing 1, 2 |



