Musings
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Musings :: Beware the Stage Mom
“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” ~ Angela Schwindt Last week I was reminded of how important it is to instill confidence in our children. I mean the kind of confidence that allows them to navigate in the world from a place of kindness but also a place from which no one can disrupt their sense of self. Building up my daughter’s self-esteem has been at the forefront of my parenting. “Healthy self-esteem is like a child’s armor against the challenges of the world. Kids who know their strengths and weaknesses and feel good about themselves…
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Musings :: Making Memories Our Kids Will Treasure
Last night I was reminded how all that our kids really want (or need) is our time. Yes, our undivided time without interruptions – from other people, pets, gadgets, the phone, etc., etc. All those things that pull at us and are easy to get wrapped up into and take away our attention and focus from the here and now. I am at fault with this as anyone. It takes several mental reminders throughout the day to be in the moment. I constantly feel like I am being pulled in a million different directions throughout the day and I think other parents feel the same from time to…
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Musings :: Helping Our Children Navigate Through Life
When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Over the past few weeks I have had this conversation with friends about how much do we protect our kids from life’s hardships. I think it is a natural reaction for most to try to shield our kids from the things that will come up in life – teasing on the playground, being excluded from certain groups, first breakups, loss, and everything else in between. I think it is a fine line we walk as parents from protecting our…
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Instagram Inspiration :: The Wonder of the Dragonfly
Last night my daughter and I were walking out our front door when we saw a rather large insect flying around our porch light. When we realized it was a dragonfly, I was a bit surprised as I have never seen one flying around at nighttime. So of course, this sent us on a quest to find out more about dragonflies. I love when nature inspires us to learn more about the creatures that share our planet with us and we spent the evening on Google learning about them! After much discussion we decided to call him (or her) Daphne. Though my daughter wanted to call him Gingivitis the Dragonfly. Funny…
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Melissa’s Musings :: 5 Tips To Stay In The Moment
“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” ~ Rose Kennedy Lately I have been thinking about how great it would be if I could just freeze time or at least slow it down and keep my little girl from growing up too fast. She just celebrated her 8th birthday last week and I really can’t believe how quickly it goes by. You hear that from mom’s who have older children but don’t really understand until you too, see your toddler suddenly go from shaky steps to running around on the soccer field in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand that will allow me to…
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Melissa’s Musings :: Enjoying the Simple Things
These past few months have been some of the most challenging I have experienced in my life. No one can prepare you for losing a loved one and I think it is something that once you go through such deep sadness one is changed forever. I do feel less afraid of death as I feel my father’s presence around me. And knowing that he is just on the other side waiting for my family comforts me somehow. Some of the things I’ve learned along this journey include: Not everyone is comfortable talking about death. I found out pretty quickly that many of us are not comfortable talking about death or…
