Every industry seems to have retreats and/or training sessions where people learn how to do their jobs better. Motherhood is one of the most important professions in the world, raising the next generation, yet training and retreats are not a part of the experience for the most part. Of course we can read books, but nothing compares to getting together with 1o0 other people in the same profession as you, learning together and from each other about how to improve. Well, Power of Moms provides this kind of training and I just went this weekend. It was at the Eyres home and it was Amazing!
The Eyres started Joy School, are authors of dozens of books, travel the globe doing conferences about parenting, and just wrote another amazing book 5 Spiritual Solutions to Everyday Parenting Challenges. Since meeting Saren, who started Power of Moms and who is the eldest daughter of the Eyres, I have become hooked on learning all about this family. They are incredible and inspiring.
Anyway, please go look at the website and all the links and listen to the podcasts and read the articles and sign up for the programs! It's all amazing and life changing. In fact, when I went down to Claifornia last, I helped my sister set up the Mind Organization for Moms Filing system and she told me last night it has "Changed [her] Life"! I feel the same way and I've only just begun!
I wanted to write down some of the main things I took away from the conference, and thought I may as well make it public so perhaps it can help some other Moms who weren't able to go!
First of all favorite stories and quotes:
Linda Eyre shared:
- A boy came to his Mom one day and said "Mom, how hard is it to be a Mom?" His Mom's head started to spin with all the different responses she could give, how could she possibly describe how hard it really is? Before she could respond though, he said "It is so hard, don' t you sometimes wish you could be Dad?"
- "Act Your Wage"
- My sleep is an investment in my Family
- Ability -Load = Margin Leave Margin in your Life in order to be able serve and have Serendipity in your life
- Through grief, each deep feeling can be a friend to walk you to a better place
- Serendipity: A state of mind whereby a person through awareness and sensitivity frequently finds something better than he was seeking
One of the things I loved most about the conference was it was not a "What you should do" session, but rather, "Here are true principles, now you have unique family dynamics and children, you decide what is important to you and design your family culture, economy and Legal System."
I decided I want to raise children who I love to be around when they grow up and who are contributors to the world around them.
So how can I do that? First and foremost, we learned about taking care of the person inside the Mom. In fact I loved the story of April teaching her children that "Mommy is a Person" so she got to sit at the table and eat and not jump up and down all through supper. People get to eat, sleep, read, exercise, have goals - and Mommy is a Person!
Also, I was reminded to cherish the moments. Because in between all the mundane and downright frustrations, there are those moments that fill our hearts with joy and remind us why we do it all. I was reminded how when things would all go terribly wrong in Costa Rica when my friend Natalie and I were traveling together, we would just laugh and say "Oh well, it's a story to tell!"
As a Mother, there are so many times when things don't go as planned - hourly in my case, but by thinking of it as a 'story to tell' I think it may make it easier and even magical.
As our family is still so young, we still don't have very many traditions, but as the Eyres say, they are the glue that keeps the family together, and I got so many awesome ideas about traditions!
I decided I want to raise children who I love to be around when they grow up and who are contributors to the world around them.
So how can I do that? First and foremost, we learned about taking care of the person inside the Mom. In fact I loved the story of April teaching her children that "Mommy is a Person" so she got to sit at the table and eat and not jump up and down all through supper. People get to eat, sleep, read, exercise, have goals - and Mommy is a Person!
Also, I was reminded to cherish the moments. Because in between all the mundane and downright frustrations, there are those moments that fill our hearts with joy and remind us why we do it all. I was reminded how when things would all go terribly wrong in Costa Rica when my friend Natalie and I were traveling together, we would just laugh and say "Oh well, it's a story to tell!"
As a Mother, there are so many times when things don't go as planned - hourly in my case, but by thinking of it as a 'story to tell' I think it may make it easier and even magical.
As our family is still so young, we still don't have very many traditions, but as the Eyres say, they are the glue that keeps the family together, and I got so many awesome ideas about traditions!
- Each member of the family gets to choose a special thing they always do on their birthdays
- on Thanksgiving, getting a cash registry roll and while the turkey cooks, list everything we are thankful for, then stringing it around the table as decoration
- For us, obviously travel is going to be a huge part of our family culture. Making that a part of our traditions. For instance going to the Lake every summer and saving up as a family to travel somewhere new every year, and maybe doing a service travel project every year when the kids get older were some ideas I had.
- Doing a service project every year to raise money and donate to a charity like Kiva.org or Rising star were
- Sundays having people over for dinner
- Valentines pillows where they get a little love note or treat if they make their bed
- Dying a red egg first when decorating easter eggs, to represent His Sacrifce and new life
- Daddy-Daughter and Mommy Son dates
- So many more... We'll see which ones stick
- Repentance Bench
- Working along side kids rather than delegating right away
- Oh there were so many great ideas for getting kids to work, take initiative, do chores, payment ideas etc!
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