Conscious Family Journal

The Perfect Gift

Conscious Parenting with Meg Brown for www.BodyEcology.com

  

Happy Holidays!

    

Since it is the season of giving, I am going to share with you one of my best conscious parenting tips of all: Love yourself first.

    

This may sound a little self-centered, or even narcissistic. Most of us – especially women – were raised believing that to be “good” human beings, we needed to take care of ourselves last.

    

Let’s put those beliefs aside for a moment, and observe reality. Have you ever noticed that your good moods and your children’s good behavior always seem to coincide?

    

Or that, just when you are feeling most tired, cranky and hopeless, your children can’t seem to do anything but fight, argue and drive you crazy? Hmm.

   

As parents, we provide the foundation for wellness for our family. As conscious parents, we can learn to be more loving and supportive of that foundation: It is called self-care.

Let It Go, Let It Go, Let It Go

The things I gave up this Christmas and why it all feels so good.

    

It is now the Sunday after Christmas, and I am again sitting quietly in my family room, looking out across the hills behind our house. 

    

The sun is low, just barely peeking out along the horizon, beneath the cloud cover. My children are playing some game in the basement playroom that involves a lot of yelling, but not too much yelling...

   

Our Christmas company went home today. My good friend, her beautiful daughter and their visiting exchange student from China had all been resident since last Tuesday. 

      

It has been lovely, with the house full of laughter, the conversation of friends and the exuberance of children.

    

Now, it is quiet. (Except for that yelling in the basement, but that feels like normal.)

    

Was Christmas good? Yes, it was very, very good.

A Mom's Christmas Wish List

Here is a letter I received from Jennifer Horn, mother to four teenaged sons and faithful fan of Santa Claus.  Enjoy!  - Meg

************************

 

"I remember asking Santa for a "real" ballerina's tutu when I was about 5. My kindergarten mind wasn't at all surprised to find it under the tree.

 

Then there was the year I told Santa that I really wanted a Chrissie doll. She also magically appeared under my Christmas tree. I've had pretty good luck with this system, so I thought I would try to get what I want most this year by sending my list to Santa.

 

This year I wish for a white Christmas.  Not just a few inches for good sledding conditions. I wish for enough snow to shut down the schools and close the businesses for a couple of days. I wish for so much snow that families are forced to huddle together in front of their fireplaces, sharing blankets while sipping hot chocolate.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

It is the Sunday before Christmas and we are pretty much snowed in, up here in the Northeast. 

 

I awoke this morning thinking about everything that wasn’t getting done: The boys’ indoor soccer playoffs have been postponed ‘til December 26th. A get-together with friends (adult conversation – woohoo) has been postponed ‘til spring.

   

A last minute trip to the mall (which seemed vaguely necessary three days ago) isn’t going to happen.  And my outdoor Christmas lights are still piled in the front hall. It doesn’t really make sense to put them out right now... they’ll be buried in snow by dinner time.

 

As I look out the window to our backyard, through the almost-whiteout conditions, I notice the upside down hammock, which was blown over in our last storm. Guess I missed my chance to dry it off and bring it inside for the winter. Oh well.

 

To top it all off, I have a cold. The kind where you sneeze a lot and your nose runs continuously. For going on forty-eight hours now.

  

Maybe the universe – or my body – is trying to tell me something. Like, “Hey, you, doing too many things at the same time? Take a break!” 

Bedtime Stories for the Holidays

Reading to our children at bedtime is a great way to connect as a family.  Even better, it is one of the best ways to help your children grow into lifelong readers themselves.

Do you think your children are too old for bedtime stories?  You might be surprised.  Cuddle up in front of the fireplace with some hot cocoa and take turns reading to each other. 

 

For conscious parents always on the lookout for ways to make our children feel safe, secure and loved, this is a no-brainer. 

  

As the holidays approach, select holiday-themed picture books to get the whole family into the spirit of the season.  We are Christmas people at my house, but there are wonderful books available for most holidays.  Here are some of my Christmas favorites:

 

Jan Brett’s Christmas Treasury  This gorgeous collection, including seven of Jan Brett’s beloved holiday stories, will provide a full week of delightful bedtime memories.  Scandinavian winter scenes will make you happy to be snuggled up at home with your loved ones, while Brett’s detailed illustrations of reindeer and trolls will encourage you to pause on each page.  Children of every age love Jan Brett!

"It's Paintastic!"

Or, Lessons on Perfection While Painting with My Sons

 

We are not crafty people. In fact – and I hesitate to admit this – I do not even own a glue gun.  They frighten me.

 

And we are not overly attached to realism. My sons, in fourth and sixth grade, still tend to draw stick figures, when forced to draw at all.

  

What we do enjoy is painting – not pictures, but objects.

 

We like lots of color and get downright excited about selecting the perfect brush from our ever-growing collection.

 

This year, we are painting wooden picture frames.

   

Once filled with snapshots of the boys, they will become Christmas gifts for grandparents, godparents and other favorite people.

      

We cover the kitchen counter with brown paper and break out the paint supplies.  As usual, I start out in control mode.

 

“Let me pour the paint.  We don’t want to get it on the floor.”

 

The Post-Thanksgiving Pie Report

Wow, can you believe it is December already?  With our unusually late Thanksgiving this year, I feel like we are swinging directly into Christmas, with no room for a breath.

Or in our case, barely a moment to digest the entire buffet of goodies consumed over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I reported in my post last week, The Great Gluten-Free Pie Experiment, Part Two, that I had prepared a gluten-free, sugar-free apple pie for my family's Thanksgiving feast.

As promised, here is the post-Thanksgiving pie report:

My mother, who is the only other relatively committed gluten-free member of the family, liked my pie.  So did I.

My older son performed a blind taste test, at my request.  He preferred the traditional, sugar-laden pie over mine, but assured me that mine was "not that bad." 

Gee, thanks.