Dear Caring Parent,
One of the gifts my daughters given me is my rocking chair. Yes, today I still have the rocking chair I got for rocking her during her early years. I love that chair.
It used to be a great haven for her and me. When she no longer needed it, it became a haven for me (although these days I have to boot the cat off first). Now it’s where I go to just chill; to get my “OM Moments” as I call deep chillin’. I’ve come to know a lot that has positively effected my parenting from being in that back ‘n forth, rhythmic movement.
It’s the one place where I do a body scan. Although you can in fact do that anywhere, in this rocking chair I can bring myself to calm so fast, check out where I am tense, ‘shine’ a warm light on that area (from my mind’s eye) and release that tension. It’s helped me be a better parent frequently. Sometimes when I have trouble settling down, I help myself by breathing in the scent of my favorite scented soy candle.
Sitting in this chair, I’ve also come to realize the value of letting my sometimes jumbled mind wander and wander until, oh so gently, what is truly on it rises into clear view. Then I can focus on my next steps with whatever it is. There’s just so much that goes on in one day! Like the days when there’s THAT much going on that I don’t complete my thoughts or feel my feelings at the time things are happening; and it all accumulates inside of me. And then at the end of the day I’m not even sure what I did all day!
Parenting life can be like this; full of so much ‘this ‘n that’ that we get lost to ourselves, in ourselves! Ever happen to you? By the way, if you are interested in a Facebook group that focuses on one minute reflections and processes that help moms find themselves amidst crazy momming, join my private mom group – The One Minute Cave.
From the seat of my rocking chair, I do things like sort out the next to-do list. I realize what is affecting me – like that the tension in my left arm is from trying to take care of something I’m not supposed to take care of. Recently, as a view of an open field kept coming up in my rambling thoughts, I realized I needed the countryside AND to unclutter my office space. Other times, I see my daughter anew and sense what she needs, usually very different than my thoughts before my sit session. Thank you sweet rocking chair!
Then there was the day I realized that I was in fact feeling great, but I was bogged down because the parents I’d been talking to weren’t doing so well. I’d been at a conference and when people heard about this blog site, they told me lots of stories about their parenting experience. Later, as I felt the lull of my body going back ‘n forth, back ‘n forth, I came to an understanding about something that now effects what I write about. I tell you, that chair rocks!
My rocking chair knows that there isn’t a parent alive that doesn’t need their version of this chair. Its wisdom is that it’s good to have a go-to method for calming ourselves that is familiar, gentle, supportive, helps non-judgmental reflection, is easy to access and is able to hold you for a while!
Take care now, Natasha
p.s. In total transparency, I am an Amazon Associate – linking you to items I use and want to share with you because they support your parenting and your personal or family goals.
