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Archive for Moments for Mom
Moments for Mom: February 2012
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My daughter, who I’ve been writing about in this column for over ten years now, just got her drivers’ permit. I took her to the DMV yesterday and watched her take her written test. We high-fived and jumped up and down when she passed. And then we went driving around a parking lot. My baby is not a baby anymore.
My son, who I’ve also been writing about for over ten years, just got mad at me for the first time for walking into his basketball practice to pick him up. Apparently that embarrassed him. Apparently I should’ve waited in the car even though practice had gone fifteen minutes over. My baby is not my baby anymore.
(In case you’re wondering if time flies…yes, it does.)
So I’m now working on letting go, something I have no desire to do whatsoever. Read More→
Moments for Mom: January 2012
Posted by: | CommentsI love January 1. I like to pretend that it really is a new day, different and set apart from the rest. That I truly can walk into a new year with a sense of anticipation, and a relief that the past is fully behind me, in deeper, purer ways.
I love packing things away. Throwing things out. Shutting doors. Moving on.
I love clean slates. Square one. All things new. Beginnings. Fresh starts.
God does too, it seems. He says in Zechariah 10:6, “I know their pain and will make them good as new.” They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. And why? Because I am their very own God, I’ll do what needs to be done for them.
As you head into this coming year, do you feel a need to start over, in any area of your life? Read More→
Moments for Mom: December 2011
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Advent. I love this word even though I was not raised in a tradition that observes it. A simple glance at the dictionary shows me why it resonates with me.
n. a coming into place, view, or being; arrival
A coming into. We head into the holiday season and into the month of December bringing with us a list of expectations and to-do’s as long as our arms. We want the best holiday ever. We want to create sweet memories. We want our family to feel loved. We want lingering time around the tree with hot chocolate in our hands and contented smiles on our faces.
But if only we could remember, even before we rush into the season, that it is about a coming into, an arrival. Read More→
Moments for Mom: November 2011
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It was hard on me as a kid when my parents got divorced. It could be for this very reason that I’m so…ummm…mad at myself, maybe…so concerned about my own kids during this time.
One of my children has had a more obvious difficult time lately. Grades, school, youth group, attitude, etc. I think I’ve handled it all pretty well considering, with firmness and consequences and not backing down. But trust me when I say, I wanted to just let said child practically do whatever s/he wanted so as to assuage my humungous mommy guilt. But I didn’t, and for today, we’re on some solid ground and I’m grateful. Read More→
Moments for Mom: October 2011
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Kevin Leman in Have a New Teenager by Friday – not that I need a new teenager by Friday or anything…totally reading this for entertainment purposes only – talks about three kinds of parenting styles. I’m paraphrasing here, but there’s the ‘whatever you want, baby’ kind of parent; the ‘it’s my way or the highway’ kind of parent; and then there’s the parent who strikes the balance, acknowledging that every person in the family is equal but has different roles.
I have to admit that I’ve leaned a tad more towards being the kind of mom who could be manipulated, whose heart strings could be tugged just so and then I’d give in to whatever the request of the moment was. Read More→
Moments for Mom: September 2011
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There’s something about school starting – even if you don’t have kids in school yet – that feels like a built-in fresh start. So this month’s column is going to be about you and small ways you can take your spiritual walk to a new level.
Admittedly, some of these ideas are going to be totally basic, but some might be brand new ideas to you. So, just take what feels right to you and walk away from the rest, with no guilt at all.
Buy a Bible. I highly recommend the New International Version for easy reading and understanding.
Read your Bible. A great way to dig in is to read a Psalm or Proverb each day, along with several verses of one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John). Read More→
Moments for Moms: August 2011
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As my kids get older, I struggle sometimes to still see them as children. My daughter is my height, she’s wicked funny, and I think I forget sometimes that she’s not my friend. Don’t get me wrong…she is. But she’s my daughter first. He’s my son first. They are friends second. They will be more my friend as time goes by, but now, they are more my children. And I have to protect them. Sometimes from me.
There is a lot going on in the dissolution of my marriage and there is so much fodder for he said/she said comments. And I must admit, it’s killing me sometimes. A huge part of me wants to tell them all that’s going on behind the scenes, but I just can’t.
In fact, Sara has even asked me if I want or need to confide in her from time to time, or one of them will look at me and say, “You look like you could use a hug…” and I wonder if I’m training them to worry about me, to take care of me, instead of vice versa.
One particularly rough evening, I had just been slammed by what seemed like ten things at once, and I was bursting to vent. I went into Sara’s room and sat on the floor. She asked what was wrong and I said, “I think we need a code word for when I’m really upset about something but I can’t tell you any details.” “Okay,” she said, “what do you want the word to be?” Without thinking (obviously), I yelled, “PENGUIN!” Sara just looked at me and then laughed and then, in typical teenager mode, asked me if I’d leave because she had some stuff to do.
I have answered “penguins” to more “how are you’s?” in the past few weeks than I care to admit. In fact, one time, I even answered something like, “Huge, robot-like penguins all over the place.” Again, she smiled. Read More→
Moments for Mom: July 2011
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“Children are resilient.” I have heard this a thousand times. I have said this a thousand times. I no longer buy it.
My parents divorced when I was young and I was told from early on that I was “mature for my age”. I look back and can see that was not the case. I may have learned to stuff my feelings. I may have learned how to interact with adults more easily than kids because I was around more adults than kids. I may have not acted out in rebellious ways as a teenager. But my parents’ divorce, when I was about three, shaped me. Read More→
Moments for Mom: June 2011
Posted by: | CommentsMy daughter came home with her freshman course schedule this week. I almost fainted. I am in complete and utter denial that Sara is going into high school. My son likes to point out that she’ll be able to get her driver’s permit this year. He does that to watch me either tear up or freak out, depending on my mood.
I do not have young children anymore. And there are days when I barely even remember what having young children feels like. Read More→
Moments for Mom: May 2011
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Mothers do not come in one shape or one size. There’s my mother by birth, who loves me like no one else ever has or ever will, and I am so grateful for her. I think that she thinks I walk on water, and who doesn’t need at least one person to believe in you like that? I have a stepmother, who has been a friend to me since I was ten or eleven years old and who has taught me so much. I have an aunt who filled in the gaps when my Dad moved out of state when I was a little girl, who shared her faith with me along the way and is one of my dearest friends to this day. I have a mother-in-law who has loved my kids so very well since the day they were born. And I have a mentor who calls me her birdie and pours into me as if I’m one of her own daughters. Read More→
CWAHM.com is a dream that God has truly brought to life. I began CWAHM.com in 2000 while learning HTML. I thought it would be a fun hobby and a way to compile all the information I was seeking on working at home. I am a mom of 2 (1 boy, 1 girl), a wife and I do work from home. I accepted Christ as my savior at the age of seven as a Sparky in my church’s AWANA club. I have a Bachelor’s degree from Grace University in Human Development and Family Studies/Bible. I love working from home and I pray that CWAHM will be a blessing in your life as it has been in mine.