Conscious Family Journal

Curse of the Monster Zucchini

How our vegetable garden is supporting our healthy eating habits, despite our best efforts to totally ignore it all summer.

   

So, we planted a garden this year.

   

I am using the term “garden” rather loosely. We have some potted herbs – cilantro, basil and parsley. In terms of vegetables, we have four tomato plants next to the porch and one zucchini plant behind some shrubs bordering the patio.

    

They’ve necessarily grown into pretty hardy little plants. With all of our travel this summer, our yard (and garden) received very limited attention.

   

Fortunately – in this case – we’ve had a fairly rainy summer. We certainly weren’t around to water anything.

    

Which is why I was rather surprised when the boys came running in from the yard two weeks ago, yelling. “Mom! Mom! You won’t believe what’s growing in the backyard.”

    

Finding Sanctuary in the Family Home

   

Your home should be your sanctuary. It should be a place of rest and renewal; a source of safety and comfort; the seat of your creativity.

      

Does this sound like the place where you live?

    

For parents especially, the home front can more often feel like a construction site, or a three-ring circus. Perhaps even a battle zone.

     

Finding spiritual enlightenment – or even a good night’s sleep – in the midst of blaring televisions and fighting children can be a challenge. Add in a couple broken appliances, a stack of unpaid bills and last year’s goal of painting the house and enlightenment gives way to exhaustion.

    

If this sounds like life at your address, don’t give up hope. Here are three great strategies to help you find some peace, prosperity and renewal in your very own home.

     

No house paint required, I promise.

Are You Ready for "Back to School"?

Wow. Our summer vacation time is officially over. The boys head back to school TOMORROW.

 

Are we ready?

 

Well, sort of.

 

We’ve purchased all of our school supplies and packed them neatly in our backpacks; the bus schedules are posted next to our family calendar on the kitchen wall; and our last-minute dash to replace too-small sneakers was relatively successful.

 

(How did we manage to buy the only pair of shoes in the store that wasn’t on sale??)

 

We took care of our annual physicals at the beginning of the summer and our six-month dental appointments were this morning.

 

The boys’ best friends are coming over for an end-of-summer pool party this afternoon.

 

So, are we ready to go back to school?

 

Not really.

French Connection: On Bonding with My Children While in Paris

  

Now that our Parisian family vacation is a fait accompli, I am reflecting on the moments that have turned into treasures.

  

This is perhaps the best part of family travel: We expose our children to new experiences and cultures, while creating new memories for our family.

 

Or at least, new memories for the parents. (That would be me.)

  

The lessons of connection parenting teach us to build lasting bonds with our children through daily, high-quality interactions. These are the ties that keep us together through thick and thin; the links that encourage our children to listen and learn, when we need to deliver the harder messages of parenting.

  

And yet, how often does this happen in “real life?” They grow up so fast. And when we are home – soon to be caught up in another school year – our daily tasks and responsibilities can get in the way of our relationships.

  

When we are battling over math homework or racing to another soccer tournament, it is easy to lose track of whether we are really growing as a family.

   

When we travel, it doesn’t take quite so much effort to feel our hearts, minds and souls expanding. It is right there in front of us, each and every moment.

10 Ways to Be a Conscious Parent

I’ve been writing about conscious parenting for about a year now. My own journey as a single mother of two adolescent boys continues to be one of adventure and discovery.  

Most days are a combination of grace-filled moments, when I feel a soul-deep connection with my children... and minutes of absolute terror. Can I possibly be doing this right? Or am I damaging my children beyond the point of repair?  

Let’s take a little time this week, to reflect on our journey together. Here are my “Top 10” favorite columns (and lessons) on conscious parenting. 

1. Make Your Parenting Choices on Purpose.  

At its core, conscious parenting is about being intentional. What do you really want your child to learn from you? Jumpstart your intentions for your children with Seven Things Worth Teaching Our Children – and Remembering Ourselves – in 2009.

American Teenager in Paris

  

A family vacation abroad can be a growth experience for all concerned! We were lucky enough to have my nineteen-year-old niece Catherine accompany us on our recent trip to France. As you can see below, she is a lovely, thoughtful young lady... and just a bit wise beyond her years. Enjoy!  - Meg

 

From Catherine:

      

“So here I find myself making my first trip to Europe at the ripe old age of 19. For ten whole days I have left my parents, my five siblings, and many friends thousands of miles away.

I have temporarily abandoned my customary routines and habits. I am doing, seeing, and exploring things I have always dreamed of – and feeling overwhelmed in the process.

   

From the art high produced by roaming through the Louvre to baking like a roasted chicken on the Bateaux Parisien tour along the Seine, it’s been an adventure.

Traveling with one’s seventy-three year old grandmother, one’s aunt, and one’s two cousins aged ten and eleven hardly sounds like a teenager’s dream vacation to Paris. Yet I have found it to be one of the best ways to travel.

American Kids in Paris

                                                                                    

A family vacation in a foreign country can open your hearts and minds to the wonders of another culture, while drawing you closer to each other.

     

Okay, it’s true. We’re on vacation... again.

     

In fact, we’re in Paris!

C’est magnifique. 

     

Why, given the economy in general and my lack of employment in particular, are we out on the road again? (Technically speaking, we did not drive to Paris. But you know what I mean.)

We are in Paris because the world is a wondrous place and it is worth stretching ourselves a bit to see it (in my humble opinion.)

We are in Paris because my seventy-three-year-old mother has wanted to get back to France for the past several years, to retrace her father’s steps when he served in the 51^st Pioneer Infantry in World War I.

We are in Paris because my children are entering puberty and I am in the midst of perimenopause and for whatever hormone-induced reason, we seem to do better when we travel.

Something about a moving target...