Compared to the neighbors on both sides, my lawn is a jungle of towering tufts of potential dandelions.  It will look different in a few hours; but now I sit with my coffee and my cat, just appreciating the warm sun on my face as the wind whips my morning mess of hair and I read this post:  Mindful Parenting: The Most Important Thing

A slower pace and smiling face creates the safe and secure environment kids need to be happy, self regulating individuals. With enough of these moments in the bank we can draw on the interest during the tense times we all experience.

Be Present. Be Attentive. Be Loving. Be a PAL. Remembering these intentions is a key component for both enjoying time with our children and cultivating the presence to be ABLE TO enjoy our children.

My family knows the importance of “Mommy’s Morning Time.” It took years for me to recognize the need for this boundary. I used to wake up and hit the ground running and ready (sort of) to serve as Super-Mom. That mindset filled my head with all sorts of ‘poor me’ judgmental thoughts and justifications and developed the Frumpy-Grumpy-Mom persona. No fun!

Do you see self care on this list?!  She must not succumb to those sucks-to-be-human moments.

Now that the boundary is set I am responsible to reinforce it. This morning, Liam asked how long I was going to be outside. After ensuring that his safety and immediate needs were met I replied, “20 minutes.” With one foot inside and one foot out, he whines “but you won’t know when to start my TV watching timer!”

I freeze.  I breathe.  I reassure him he’ll have his full allotment (another boundary) and let him know he will have my undivided attention when I come back inside and then I close the door.

Image Created By Lisa Densmore

Dandelions, like thoughts, are towering tufts of potential floating about in the air. Practicing being aware of and responsible for mine has created a new and improved Mindful-Mom persona. And you know what? I like her!