I bring my human frailties and foibles to the parenting plate, despite my best efforts to disguise them. This morning I worked a bit on my thoughts about this topic and wound up with a rather eclectic list of things to work on--and to help me remember, moment by fleeting moment, how precious my children are:
1) Honor my children as I would a distinguished guest: the appearance of Christ at my dinner table, Thich Nhat Hanh at my door, or the child of a friend.
2) Release the past from its duty to inform my present with regret, fear, worry, pain, guilt, "shoulds" or mindless parenting (unless of course it's that time of the day when I am, well, mindless).
3) Ello lo hace a mano (I hope I got that right--it's excerpted from Claudia Pinkola Estes' book, Women Who Run With the Wolves) and means She makes and remakes her soul by hand--so, my version: "I make and remake my soul by hand--I am capable of positive change"
4) Embrace all that I do not know, and all that is to come.
5) Stay open. Stay open. Stay open. Stay open.
6) Smile
7) Laugh
8) Breathe
9) Practice gratitude for each part of my body and mind that still functions well. Where did I put those keys? What happened to those Marcy Cook pages we were using? Dinner, what dinner?
10) Honor the creatures (human and not-so-human) that live in my home.
11) Enjoy each task I am blessed to perform. There is joy to cultivate in all that seems menial or mundane.
12) Let it flow - my breath, my love, my creativity, my offering to those I encounter each day.
13) Live in the light...
14) Frustrations and foibles aside, my children know they are loved...and sometimes, that is just enough for one day's work.