Parenting
can be monotonous. Oops! Did I just say that out loud? It’s true and
anyone who’s had a baby knows it. We’ve all had those days when going to
the park and watching your toddler go down the curvy slide one more
time is enough to make you scream.
Yesterday
I caught the eye of my neighbor as he sat watching his two year old
twin boys playing in his backyard. He had that look on his face and I
knew he wanted to say he was feeling tired of the routine, but instead,
he smiled and commented on how boys are always drawn to the messiest
part of the yard. I smiled back recalling all the days I sat watching my
girls playing in my yard and wishing for the time when life would get
interesting again.
Yes,
my babies made me smile and I love them more than life itself but the
reality of being the parent of young babies is the days can blend into
each other and time can feel as if it completely stops. I think just
knowing other parents feel the same way can help you feel better. It’s
not that we don’t love our children and want to be with them but it’s
one of those things about parenting that people don’t readily admit to.
Like everything, sometimes it’s tough to repeat the same routine day
after day and with your children, sometimes you don’t see the big
changes until they hit a milestone like walking or starting preschool.
Last
week I brought my youngest daughter to high school to start her
freshman year. I burst into tears as she and her older sister got out of
the car. Visions of them as my little babies flashed in front of me and
I can’t stop wondering where the time has gone. They are young women
now with their own likes and dislikes but I can still see them sitting
in the backyard, having a tea party or playing in their kiddie pool.
I
used to hate it when people told me to “cherish the baby years” but
suddenly, your children are driving and heading off to college. I say
suddenly because in hindsight, it really feels like that. Time is
fleeting and our children grow up fast. So, enjoy the days when all you
have to do is watch them slide down the slide for the hundredth time
because soon you won’t see them all day and you’ll wonder how they got
from the park to high school so fast.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, July 11, 2011
Pivoting To A Positive Place
It seems as if all we hear in the news these days is how bad the
economy is and how bad EVERYTHING is. It’s difficult to stay positive
when we’re bombarded with bad news in the papers and on television.
Years ago, I met a therapist at an event who was explaining the power of positive thinking. It was a sales seminar and part of me planned on tuning her “motivational” speech out until I heard her describe a practice called “pivoting”. Pivoting is when you feel completely depressed and down and instead of letting your bad mood rule the day, you consciously decide to turn it around and look at everything in a positive light. For example, I was selling watches at the time and if I didn’t sell the first customer of the day, I always felt the rest of my appointments would fall flat as well. Of course, I always blamed my customers for why they didn’t buy until I heard this therapist say that our attitudes directly affect every person we come in contact with. This therapist said that when we “pivot” our bad moods into good ones, we change not only our negative feelings but those of the others around us.
From that time on, I began playing a game with myself to consciously “flip” my outlook on life whenever I started feeling negative. With this attitude, I have been able to start and keep my company running, overcome some health issues and even help my daughters see the power of positive thought in their daily routines. My hope is that this “pivoting” therapy will catch on and the media will begin to look at the positives a bleak economy or any negative situation brings. I know it sounds corny but people come together in rough times and support each other. People want to thrive, not just survive, and if we could just get the media to report from a positive angle, maybe we could all pivot on those days when that feeling of impending doom looms over us.
Years ago, I met a therapist at an event who was explaining the power of positive thinking. It was a sales seminar and part of me planned on tuning her “motivational” speech out until I heard her describe a practice called “pivoting”. Pivoting is when you feel completely depressed and down and instead of letting your bad mood rule the day, you consciously decide to turn it around and look at everything in a positive light. For example, I was selling watches at the time and if I didn’t sell the first customer of the day, I always felt the rest of my appointments would fall flat as well. Of course, I always blamed my customers for why they didn’t buy until I heard this therapist say that our attitudes directly affect every person we come in contact with. This therapist said that when we “pivot” our bad moods into good ones, we change not only our negative feelings but those of the others around us.
From that time on, I began playing a game with myself to consciously “flip” my outlook on life whenever I started feeling negative. With this attitude, I have been able to start and keep my company running, overcome some health issues and even help my daughters see the power of positive thought in their daily routines. My hope is that this “pivoting” therapy will catch on and the media will begin to look at the positives a bleak economy or any negative situation brings. I know it sounds corny but people come together in rough times and support each other. People want to thrive, not just survive, and if we could just get the media to report from a positive angle, maybe we could all pivot on those days when that feeling of impending doom looms over us.
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