to all you mommies out there…

in my own personal quest to learn everything i can about motherhood, i keep getting book suggestions. this one has been recommended to me by several friends. today it was also featured as an interview with the author, karen maezen miller, in one of the blogs i’ve been reading. like karen maezen miller, i have sidestepped the issue of children for a long time. i guess i’ve been in a bit of denial about my advancing age (i’m now 37) but for many other reasons, too…fear and the what-if mind game being just a few of them.

this is one idea that got me in the interview:

What’s your greatest challenge in motherhood right now? Your greatest joy?
My greatest challenge is what it has always been: me. My limitations, my breaking points, my anger, my ideas, my ambitions, my judgments, my fears, my stinginess, my stubbornness. My greatest joy is always my daughter Georgia just as she is. Such pure life! Such whimsy! Such honesty! As she approaches age 9 I see how eternal is our vigil; how tricky the steps. My job now is to watch her turn and not run after, to watch her jump and not buffer the fall; to see her question her place, her heart, and even her body. My job is still to be close by, just to be close by. To feel everything and prevent nothing; to let her life unfold.

wow, what a gift to give your child… the chance to be fully, a child. i suppose it’s about finding that balance between protecting them and allowing them to make their own mistakes. i think this would be such a tremendous practice, as our {my} urge is to protect is so strong. my heart leaps into my throat just watching the children on my street play on skateboards or swingsets. they aren’t even my kids and i’m a nervous mother.

i loved this answer too…

When do you feel most happy?
Now. What other time could there possibly be?

you can just imagine the twinkle in her eye when she says it!

if you’d like to know more about the book, you can also visit her website www.mommazen.com. i particularly love that she used cheerios as her little icons!

if you read it, let me know what you think!

xox

p.s. she also wrote a great article called the dharma of barbie that you can find on her site…