Monthly Archives: September 2010

Even More About Michaelmas

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Happy Michaelmas!  I hope you all are having a wonderful day of festivities!  I wrote a few posts about Michaelmas quite awhile ago, you can find it here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/10/05/our-michaelmas-celebration/   and here:   https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/09/06/michaelmas-is-coming/

Our family celebrated Michaelmas with our homeschool group on Sunday.  We had approximately 40 other parents and children from our homeschool group gathered, and we had a wonderful time celebrating with stories, games, and other festivities.

This season of Michaelmas, for me, really lasts from a few weeks before Michaelmas until a week or so before Halloween.  In honor of this occasion, I have been reading the words of Rudolf Steiner from his lectures  collected and entitled, “Michaelmas and the Soul- Forces of Man”  In the fourth lecture, he relates the four major festivals of the year:  Michaelmas, Christmas, Easter and St. John’s.  He says, “ Easter: death, then resurrection; Michaelmas: resurrection of the soul, then death. This makes of the Michael Festival a reversed Easter Festival. Easter commemorates for us the Resurrection of Christ from death; but in the Michael Festival we must feel with all the intensity of our soul: In order not to sleep in a half-dead state that will dim my self-consciousness between death and a new birth, but rather, to be able to pass through the portal of death in full alertness, I must rouse my soul through my inner forces before I die. First, resurrection of the soul — then death, so that in death that resurrection can be achieved which man celebrates within himself.”

You can read these four lectures for yourself here:  http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/MichSoul/MiSoul_index.html  There is also this really interesting collection of articles, lectures, verses and stories all about Michaelmas available in  Waldorf Journal Project #15, edited by David Mitchell.  You can find that here:   http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/WJP15.pdf

I especially like this part from David Mitchell’s writings about Autumn:  “The evening skies come alive as meteor showers streak across the dark canopy like blazing arrows. The remnants of this cosmic metallic  presence is unknowingly absorbed into our blood from the very air we breathe,   invigorating our blood with its homeopathic qualities of iron. Darkness starts  to wrap around us and we are moved inside to the comfort of our homes. Our  thought life also goes inward. The dreamy mood of summer is replaced by a new  vigor that seems to aid us in our tasks.”

In this season, I challenge you to bring new consciousness to the elements of your life that need your attention; to overcome things that are difficult in your parenting with your attentiveness and will.

I challenge you to encourage your children in the areas that are challenging for them.  Every child deserves to hear every day about how strong they are, how healthy their bodies are, how brave and courageous they are.

Happy Michaelmas today,

Carrie

More About Chapter Two of “Hold On To Your Kids”

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So, we are back on our book study.  Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate wrote “Hold On To Your Kids:  Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers” and it is a very thought-provoking book for our times.

We are in Chapter Two, which I previously wrote about, but decided that the list of “The Six Ways of Attaching”  really needed to be a second post.  For those of you past the breastfeeding/co-sleeping stage, I want you to really meditate and think about how you can bring this to older preschoolers, to the children in the grades and yes, those teenagers!

The authors note that this list is in order from most basic to most complex, and that this list can give a parent clues and warning signs if our children are becoming peer-attached.  This section starts on page 20 in Chapter Two.

1. Senses – physical proximity.  The authors note that whilst this begins in infancy, the “hunger for physical proximity never goes away.  The less mature a person is, the more he will rely on this basic mode of attaching.” 

The authors note that when children are occupied with being in the same space, hanging out, staying in touch, talking for hours about nothing, that this truly is an immature attachment.

2. Sameness- “The child seeks to be like those she feels closest to.”  Usually this is most highly evidenced in toddlerhood.  Toddlers and small children imitate and emulate.

Identification is another means of attaching through sameness.  The child merges with the object of identification.  This could (hopefully) be a parent, but it could also be a child’s identity within a group.

3.  Belonging and Loyalty.  This also emerges in toddlerhood and sometimes you see this in preschool-aged children.  The child will “lay claim” to whomever or whatever he is attached to – mommy, daddy, a toy, etc. 

Children can get into conflict over whose best friend is whose.  The authors note that this type of attachment of can occur between peer-oriented girls.

4.  Significance – “we matter to someone”.  This emerges more in the preschool phase, where the child seeks to win approval and is sensitive to looks of disapproval and displeasure.

“Peer-oriented children do the same, but the countenance they want to shine is that of their peers.  …The problem with this way of attaching is that it makes a child vulnerable to being hurt.  To want to be significant to someone is to suffer when we feel we don’t matter to that special person.”

5.  Feeling – this also begins most intensely in the preschool years, where children fall in love with those they are attached to.  “A child who experiences emotional intimacy with the parent can tolerate much more physical separation and yet hold the parent close.”

The authors state that this fifth way of attachment is most tricky in that if we risk giving our heart away, it can be broken.  Those who have loved and suffered may retreat to other less risky ways of attaching. 

With children, the authors state that vulnerability is something that peer-oriented children seek to escape and that emotional intimacy is actually much less common among peer-oriented children.

6.  Being known – this usually occurs by the time a child is ready to enter school.  “To feel close to someone is to be known by them.”  The child will share their secrets.  Children who feel close to their parents will not keep secrets from them because then they are not as close.  A child who is peer-oriented will keep no secrets from their best friend. 

The authors point out that amongst children, the greatest amount of “secrets” is actually gossip, not psychological intimacy.  “True psychological intimacy is the exception among peer-oriented children, most likely because the risks are too great.”

So, the authors point out that compared to children whose attachments are to parents, peer-oriented children are actually typically limited to only two or three ways of attaching.

They ask, “Shouldn’t it be possible for children to be connected with their parents and teachers and, at the same time, with their peers?”  The authors point out that this is possible and desirable, but at the same time, those attachments cannot be in competition with each other.  There has to be a primary attachment. 

They write on page 27 that “A child’s alienated stance toward his parents does not represent a character flaw, ingrained rudeness, or behavior problems.  It is what we see when attachment instincts have become misdirected.”

There is actually more in this chapter, but I think we will leave this chapter and go on to Chapter 3:  “Why We’ve Come Undone.”

Many blessings,

Carrie

What Are The Benefits of Rhythm In The Home?

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I am getting ready to give a talk next Saturday regarding a peaceful family life as supported by rhythm, and today I wanted to highlight this portion for all of my readers near and far to meditate upon:

What Are The Benefits of Rhythm In The Home?

· Gives children a sense of security

· Rhythm can calm a high-needs, anxious, nervous or difficult child

· Children can see the tasks of daily life as process from beginning to end

· Once children have external rhythms, they then develop internal rhythms for eating, sleeping

· Helps the child focus their energy on play and growth and balance as opposed to wondering when the next snack time will be or when bedtime is

· Rhythm helps maintain a person or child’s strength for daily tasks

· Connects a child to nature

· Provides a structure for a child that is neither boring nor over-stimulating; provides a balance

· A True Help in Loving Guidance – because children are so centered in their physical bodies and in imitation, rhythm becomes a real help in avoiding arguments

· Helps children become helpers in the home and in life by building in times for setting up and cleaning up activities within the rhythm; this helps calm nervous and difficult children

· Rhythm helps the adults of the family build up their own self-discipline so we can model this to our children

· A rhythm helps a child feel certain that their needs will be met

· A rhythm is a vital piece in establishing for young children that there is a time for all things

· Rhythm helps parents not only with self-discipline but with enabling the energy of the house to flow smoothly and to support the needs of everyone in the entire family, not just one child or the children

· A disorganized life is not truly free!

I encourage you all to think and meditate on this; start small!  The day starts with the night before, so perhaps thinking about bedtime would be a good place to begin.

Many blessings,

Carrie

“Hold On To Your Kids” Chapter Three

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So we are moving along with our book study of Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate’s “Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers.”

Chapter Three is entitled, “Why We’ve Come Undone.”  The opening premise of this chapter can be summed up in the first sentence:  “How is it that, in today’s world, children so readily transfer their attachments from nurturing adults to each other?  The cause is not individual parental failure but an unprecedented cultural breakdown for which our instincts cannot adequately compensate.” 

So, this chapter essentially breaks down and analyzes the causes of attachment failure.  It is a very interesting read; I encourage all of you to really spend some time with this chapter.

On page 32: “One result of the economic changes since the Second World War is that children are placed early, sometimes soon after birth, in situations where they spend much of the day in one another’s company.  Most of their contact is with other children, not with the  significant adults in their lives.  They spend much less time bonding with parents and adults.  As they grow older, the process only accelerates.”  The authors go on to discuss how most early childhood providers, educators, and teachers are not taught about attachment theory at all (see the work of John Bowlby if you are interested) and how the importance of adult connection is not appreciated or fostered.  They emphasize that the damage is NOT caused by parents who work but caused by the lack of consideration of attachment by society at large.  If we considered attachment, day cares and mother’s morning out programs and such things would have a specific way to foster and nurture children. 

The authors go on to write that after day care and kindergarten, children generally go to school and that this is an environment with even more peer orientation and less adults around. 

The lack of extended family is also problematic.  Grandparents, aunts, uncles often “were better able than parents themselves to offer the unconditional loving acceptance that is the bedrock of emotional insecurity” but now are not frequently in the same place as the children who really need them.  Moving frequently also is problematic because “our children cannot be co-parented by people whose names we hardly even know.”

The authors point out the importance of such figures as the family physician, the storekeeper around the corner and artisans in the village who knew the whole family for generations and how this is also disappearing if not gone.  Also, the attendance of people at a place of worship has declined, so that a community of caring people from church or synagogue may also not be present. 

Whew!  And I am going to stop there for now.  It all is rather depressing, isn’t it?  However, the one thing that gives me HOPE for our children are all the parents I meet just like YOU who are making mindful decisions and trying to get back to the real roots of childhood development!  Thank you all!

Much love,

Carrie

The Chinese Moon Festival

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You all probably remember what a great time my family had celebrating the Chinese New Year with a friend of mine:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/02/09/chinese-new-year-in-the-waldorf-home/

Well, today I had a reader kind enough to write in and share her plans for celebrating the Chinese Moon Festival today.  You can see the links she shared here: 

http://www.thistinyasteroid.com/2010/09/moon-festival-planner/

and here: http://www.thistinyasteroid.com/2010/09/wip-moon-festival-lanterns/

Happy Celebrating!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Homeschooling and Exhausted?

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Parents were joking today at our homeschool co-op  that we are at the beginning of the year and we are already all tired!  There is something about that end of summer (planning and more planning), leading into the start of the homeschool year (where you have to remember that life and disruption is part of homeschooling!), holding it together for children of all different ages –that really can take it out of a momma.

One thing that I was mentioning to a dear friend of mine (hi Sara M!) is that I think protection of the etheric is very important, even in teaching the grades.  So I highly recommend wearing long skirts and aprons during school hours and head coverings of some kind.  I also like silk scarves and warm vests when the weather gets a bit cooler.

The other areas we brainstormed about as a group was having a nourishing diet of warming foods and getting enough sleep!  Going to bed is so vitally important when you are homeschooling!

I think there is one other piece as well:  this really wonderful idea of the rhythm of the week.  The grains of the day, the color of the day, the scent of the day.  I wrote about the grain of the day a long time ago, but here is that back post if you have never seen it:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/11/23/steiners-grain-of-the-day/

This is my current dream: to order some long skirts/dresses and long aprons from Dharma Trading Company and to dye them in the  color of the day.  Then I have clothes for every day of the school week in the right color AND I protection from becoming drained during the school day!

Rhythm is a key help in homeschooling, parenting and life.  If you feel like you need to jump start your rhythm, here is a back post to help: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/03/13/baby-steps-to-waldorf-rhythm/

Many blessings,

Carrie

September Linky Love!

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I just wanted to send some love to my top ten referrers…thank you all so very much.  You all inspire me!

Here is the TOP TEN:

  • aresohappy.squarespace.com
  • thewaldorfconnection.com
  • untroddenpaths.blogspot.com
  • simplicityparenting.com
  • ancienthearth2.blogspot.com
  • catherine-et-les-fees.blogspot.com
  • ourdayourjourney.blogspot.com
  • eileenspace.blogspot.com
  • chelseab.typepad.com
  • blumieboys.blogspot.com

 

I have been reading those, and here is a spot I have been enjoying as well:  http://www.anthromed.org/  I have also been enjoying re-reading “Kingdom of Childhood” for the Christopherus study.  Is anyone else over there?

And, I am soliciting ideas for what you would like to read in this space.  It is always a bit of a challenge, because some people read this blog for homeschooling, some parents don’t homeschool at all and read it for parenting inspiration….some people read this blog for information regarding Waldorf parenting/homeschooling and some people just skip that…You all keep me on my toes!  I just consider this a parenting blog that melds all my interests, passions and areas where I have some knowledge and I hope some of it helps someone…pretty simple.  🙂  Anyway, please do let me know what you would like to read more about.  There are now over 640 posts on this blog, if you can believe that!

Love to you all,

Carrie

A Rant: What Every Parent Should Learn From Children With ADD/ADHD

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I was searching more and found this on the website of the Center For Disease Control, based here in Atlanta:  http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5434a2.htm  You can click here to read the full report, and I think EVERY parent should read this whether their own children have ADD/ADHD or not.  This is part of what this report says:

Prevalence and national population estimates of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis were calculated and compared by selected sociodemographic characteristics (Table). In 2003, approximately 7.8% (4,418,000; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4,234,000–4,602,000) of U.S. children aged 4–17 years had ever had ADHD diagnosed. ADHD diagnosis was reported approximately 2.5 times more frequently among males than females (Figure 1). Prevalence of reported ADHD increased with age and was significantly lower among children aged 4–8 years compared with children aged >9 years (Table). The greatest prevalence was noted among males aged 16 years (14.9%) and females aged 11 years (6.1%). The prevalence of reported ADHD diagnosis was significantly higher among non-Hispanic, primarily English-speaking, and insured children. Moreover, prevalence rates were significantly higher for children in families in which the most highly educated adult was a high school graduate (or had completed 12 years of education), compared with children in families in which the most highly educated adult had a higher or lower level of education. ADHD diagnosis among males was reported significantly more often in families with incomes below the poverty threshold (<100%) than in families with incomes at or above the poverty threshold. Rates of reported diagnosis among females were not significantly different across the three levels of poverty. Prevalence varied substantially by state, from a low of 5.0% in Colorado to a high of 11.1% in Alabama (Figure 2).

So let’s look at what we can gleam from above, maybe I am reading too much in between the lines, but you all can leave me a comment and tell me what you think!  So, from above it appears:

  • Being male is a risk factor.  I think this goes back directly to how our society handles raising boys, and how being boy almost is looked at as a liability by many in society  (not so consciously and consciously!) that I have written about before (but can’t seem to find the exact post in my almost 700 posts!  Bah!).  But here’s a post to start you off: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/06/27/boys-boys-boys/ . Also, here is an interesting article about the “rough and tumble play” boys engage in:  http://www.movementforchildhood.com/play.pdf
  • Children over the age of 9 are more frequently diagnosed….I wonder if this is related to lack of meaningful rites of passage, this whole metamorphosis of the children ages 9-12 being “tweens” and not children, the whole prolonged adolescence that occurs in our country.  I wrote a bit about that here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/06/30/rite-of-passage-parenting-four-essential-experiences-to-equip-your-kids-for-life-heading-up-to-the-nine-year-change-and-beyond/   and here is a good article regarding the phenomenon of “teening” from the Movement for Childhood website: http://www.movementforchildhood.com/teening.pdf. 
  • Greatest prevalence was among “non-Hispanic, primarily English-speaking, and insured children.”  So what does that mean?  The incidence would be higher if we included children that were not insured and could afford to “get diagnosed”?    Or does it mean there is something cultural in the way non-Hispanic, primarily English-speaking parents who have insurance look at childhood behaviors that cause them to seek a medical opinion?  Are there true differences according to ethnic background? Genetics? What do you all think? I don’t know the answers on this one.
  • Prevalence rate was related to a parent’s level of education.  See above.  Males were more often diagnosed amongst families who live below the poverty level.  Female rates of diagnosis were not different across different levels of poverty.  What is this caused by?
  • Prevalence varied by state.  Does this have to do with access to doctors who are knowledgeable, could this have to do with rates of obesity and amount of time spent in nature from state to state?  I remember reading Colorado has one of the most fit and outdoor, active populations in our country. Alabama does not.   Again, what do you all think? 

Obviously, ADD/ADHD has been around for a long time.  I think the etiology of something like this would obviously be multi- factorial.  No, I don’t think ADD/ADHD is anyone’s “fault” per say, although I do think a society that starts children so early in academics and expects children to sit still and write, a society that is taking away recess and children learning experientially, a society where children’s free play is disappearing, is headed for trouble.

So do I think parents, teachers, concerned neighbors and friends could do things to help?

Why yes, yes I do.

1. I think all concerned adults, whether we have children or not, should take a hard look at an educational system that pushes academics before age six and a half or seven.  In many countries around the world, including China and Japan and Finland and other countries whose children do much better in later testing than our children, school may “start” at any early age but no academics are touched.  Why do we have the model we have today?  When in the 1940’s first grade was a half day and six-year-olds napped, how did we get to where we are?

Here are some lecture notes from a lecture regarding boys that Kim John Payne gave:  http://www.thechildtoday.com/files/Boy_O_Boy_Calgary

A NY Times article on taking play seriously:  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17play.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin

Ideas for different difficulties with the twelve senses/movement: http://www.movementforchildhood.com/keys.pdf

We should be lobbying our lawmakers and policymakers to take a good look at this, and we should be supporting organizations that are looking at this such as Alliance for Childhood (http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/)

2.  I think we should be pushing our children to spend time in nature.  You can read Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods:  Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder.”  Here is his website:  http://richardlouv.com/

3.  We should be helping parents make critical choices surrounding the usage of media and computers for small children.  Here is the “Media and Children” section from the Alliance for Childhood website:  http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/media

4.  We should be helping children eat a health diet with foods as close to a natural state as possible.

5.  We should be helping parents to not over-schedule and rush children with extra classes and lessons.  For those of you who have read “Simplicity Parenting”, you can join The Circle or find a group here:  http://www.simplicityparenting.com/forsimplicityparents.html

From a Waldorf perspective:

  • Marsha Johnson had a list recently on her Yahoo!Group:  waldorfhomeeducators@yahoogroups.com
  • Do try the FREE audio over at Christopherus regarding Waldorf as a therapeutic education:  http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/bookstore-for-waldorf-homeschooling/audio-downloads.html
  • Do look more into the “Movement for Childhood” website I listed so many times above.
  • Warmth!  Warmth for the chest area, hats, socks, warm clothing!
  • Rhythm!  Rhythm is very important.  There are so many articles on rhythm on this blog.  Here is one to start: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/01/cultivating-rhythm-the-inner-work-of-advent/
  • You, the adult,  being present and not over-loaded.  Inner work for you!
  • Be home together – cut out all the running around for forty days and see if that helps.  Run YOUR errands at night without your children. 
  • Get rid of all screens for forty days and see if there is a difference.
  • The things mentioned above – diet, sleep, spending hours each day in nature (I personally recommend at least three or more)
  • Cut down the amount of STUFF in your house dramatically and see if that doesn’t also help with sleep, rest and behavior. 
  • Sensory issues?  Other things that may be mistaken for ADD/ADHD but are really something else or something contributing to what is going on?  Sometimes in those cases, I do think a therapist (The RIGHT Therapist, if you can find one!) can be helpful. 

Just some ideas; please,please, take what resonates with you.  YOU are the expert on your own family!   I am sorry this has turned into a small novel!

Please leave me your comments below and help other mothers out!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Recent Studies Regarding Treatment for ADD/ADHD

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So, continuing on with our look at studies published and available through PubMed regarding ADD/ADHD and outcomes, we are looking at a few studies today regarding more “natural” treatment methods (from the medical/research perspective).

Here is the first one, for the younger crowd:  “Treatment of Preschoolers with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” out of Duke University Medical Center.  The thing I found most intriguing about the results of this article, which was a review of the current treatment literature for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschoolers, is that “ Parent training studies show consistent behavioral improvements reported by teachers and observers as well as parents, with evidence of clinically significant improvement in ADHD symptoms for up to 2 years.”    The other interesting quote I found was the author’s statement that:  “There is evidence to support the benefit of immediate-release stimulant medication for up to 1 year; however, effects do not seem to be as large, and some of the side effects may be greater than for school-age children. With regard to nonstimulants such as atomoxetine, there are literally no controlled outcome data for children with ADHD who are younger than 5 years of age. Overall, a great deal remains to be learned about the safety and efficacy of pharmacotherapy in this age group.”

Has anyone out there had experience with parent training for dealing with children with ADD/ADHD?  What did that look like, and how did it work for you and your family?  Please do leave a comment below and get the word out to other families if this was helpful to you.

Moving on to study number two, out of the University of British Columbia :  “Nutritional status of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a pilot study”.   This study with a small sample number essentially showed that  children with ADHD showed a predisposition for low zinc and copper status in ADHD.  I also found another preliminary study that talked about the need for a randomized clinical trial of “micronutrients” as a way to improve mood and impulsivity in ADHD, but I cannot find which study that was to quote it verbatim for you all.

Study number three:  “Children with Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After Walk in the Park.”  This study is from the University of Illinois in Urbana and looked at 17 children diagnosed with ADHD.  The children, ages 7-12, walked in a park, downtown, and in a neighborhood. The study found that “twenty minutes in a park setting was sufficient to elevate attention performance relative to the same amount of time in other settings. These findings indicate that environments can enhance attention not only in the general population but also in ADHD populations. “Doses of nature” might serve as a safe, inexpensive, widely accessible new tool in the tool kit for managing ADHD symptoms.”

These studies may at least provide a starting point for parents to dialogue with their health care providers and discuss treatment options that can assist their children from a holistic perspective.

On another holistic note, I recently saw this book for sale by Aviva Jill Romm and  Tracy Romm entitled: “ADHD Alternatives:  A Natural Approach To Treating Attention Deficit  Hyperactivity Disorder”.  Here is a link to it on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/ADHD-Alternatives-Approach-Attention-Hyperactivity/dp/1580172482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284851852&sr=8-1.    I was wondering if anyone out there had read this book, and if so, what did you think?  Please leave a comment below!

Many blessings,

Carrie

“Why Does It Have To Be Me?”

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Today my sweet little five- and- a –half -year old looked up at me through a tear-stained face and wailed, “Why does it always have to be me?  Why can’t it ever be big sister?”

Poor little thing; she has so far fractured a finger, nearly garnered a concussion yesterday falling off a swing, cut open two other fingers in a bicycle accident, and knocked the bonding off her front tooth this afternoon.  Needless to say, it has been a rough week for her!

How many times have we said this sort of sentiment in our lives, in our own parenting, in our own homeschooling?  That wrestling with God when we ask burdens to be lifted, burdens that we know we don’t feel confident enough to rise up to face.  “Why me?  I don’t want this path.  I don’t want this journey.  Please just take it away from me, and give it to someone else.”

You all know this scenario of parenting:

We are gliding, and then we trip.

We are rising and succeeding and then we fail.  Perhaps we fail miserably.

We so often forget that the gift of parenting and of homeschooling is in the striving.  There is no perfection, just the journey.  I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.”

Isn’t that so true?

How are you going to grow today as a parent, as a wife or partner, as a neighbor, as a friend?

How are you going to set the tone in your home to include peacefulness, reverence, awe?  How are you going to handle your children and meet them not only where they are but uplift them to the next level?  How are you going to love your spouse, your children and most of all, yourself?

What is your plan for parenting?  Do you have a Family Mission Statement?  It is that time of year to review, renew, strengthen our inner reserves as we head into this time of Michaelmas.  It is one of my favorite times of the year.

That question of “Why Me” really can become one of your favorite questions if you can focus on the striving and the progress.  “Why Me?”  can become “Of course it is you, my Beloved. Who else would it be?  Who else has these lessons to learn and this journey to make?”

Love your children and live big today,

Carrie