Un-Parenting

My parenting skills are pretty good- I’m disciplined enough to keep some structure to my days which very young children thrive on despite my free-spirited ways, and I attend to feeding and taking care of my children’s basic needs.  But lately, I have been feeling a shifting of the sands, like something is changing on a level that isn’t visible, yet very real.

Perhaps it’s their ages, especially my oldest Landon, who is 11…I am not sure exactly the whys and whats, but I just feel everything as I know it in terms of parenting is about to become obsolete.  My kids just don’t seem to need the same things from me, yet of course they still need me; so I am trying to be very open and empty and observing to see what exactly has changed and what do they really need from me…

I have very strong feelings about raising children, and have always said that RAISING CHILDREN RAISES US…and I am sure you feel as I do that the learning on our part as parents is perhaps even more profound than anything we could ever teach our kids.  Yet, I have always felt I too that that in no way diminishes our role as parents.  As children teach us a renewed freshness, a ‘being in the moment’ awareness, unconditional love and laughter, and so much MORE, we also have valuable gifts of experience, and insight to share with them.  Like for example, when my youngest left his hoodie jacket on top of the burning wood stove this morning and it caught on fire until Landon grabbed it and through it in the snow (yes, its April 7 and although we had a few Spring-like days there where we enjoyed some great hiking, we just got another huge dump of snow SNOW! Arghhhh) extinguishing it.

We all thanked Landon for his superhero awareness and ability to take action.  Then Liam said an odd thing.  “I’m sorry I was guilty of nearly burning down our house”.  Guilty?  That’s a pretty heavy burden for a 9 year young boy.  But of course he felt that.  It’s just a conditioned response to all the times his parents and family and now school teachers have projected that attitude onto him when he failed to perform the function we thought he ought to perform.  If only we could really see how there is no guilt, only learning and lessons that we choose to experience…

Blissings, Peaches!

xoShannon

ps

If you want to hear more, listen in as I’m interviewed by Laura Fox of RAW SPIRIT RADIO next Wednesday April 15^th at 10pm EST.  Drhumil Purohit from WE LIKE IT RAW will be on that show also.