Parent Love

I am fortunate everyday to witness parents who are nuts about their children. We talk about our kids and their incredible absorbent minds; the care, respect and inspiration that they deserve and require. When I see another parent at drop off, I recognize their joyful exhaustion from it all--good parenting requires a lot.

And so today, my thoughts gravitate towards parents and parent love--and the care, respect and inspiration that we require. The ability to be good to one's self has an impressive array of benefits and lasting results. The friendly reminders below are as much for myself as for every one else.

• Do something for yourself first thing in the morning, before rushing to get the family dressed, fed and packed for the day. Even 10 minutes of exercise--old school jumping jacks, push ups and squats--or a quick run around the block, even a short yoga circuit can drastically change your outlook for the day. Plus, 10 minutes warms up your entire system and energizes your cells :)
• Eat well. Whether you are at your desk or on the go most of the day, raw ingredients keep you on your game, providing invaluable micronutrients that on-the-go parents need. Incorporate nuts and seeds for long lasting energy. Try ginseng in the afternoon rather than coffee. Ginseng stimulates the immune system and gently energizes your mind and body. It also controls blood sugar and cures anxiety and stress.
• Lay on the floor at least once a day with your family--outdoors is best, but even on the living room floor works. It's fun, and literally grounding for everyone!
• Change up the evening routine. Have leftover nights where everyone gets to choose a different dinner. Everyone likes a little choice now and then.
• Take at least 10 minutes for yourself before bedtime--not reading or watching television, not emailing or talking on the phone. 10 minutes of reflection, stretching, exercise, struggling through the guitar song that you are still learning to play. What we do right before we go to sleep, greatly impacts how we sleep.

That's it for now. Just a few little reminders for us all. Of course there are many, many things not on this list--like laughing at yourself at least twice a day.

Happy Tuesday!

Peaceful Families

Learning to be a parent can be challenging and rewarding. I discovered that living with a child can be like being thrown around in an emotional washing machine. Regardless of all my advances in learning to be with myself and to extend compassion to others, I soon learned that raising a child required additional personal resources. It just wasn't enough to have unconditional love and a heart of compassion, I needed real skills in relating to my daughter. I realized that being a parent was not a natural gift, so becoming a parent has been a gradual evolution that continues to teach me about personal integrity and respect for my daughter.

One of my valuable resources is a practice of communication developed by Marshall Rosenberg, which he calls "non-violent communication" (NVC). It is a style of communication and consciousness to promote connection, compassion, and peace in relationships. Among other things, the Bay NVC group has a program for peaceful families.

Blessings,
Darren Weber

SHUTTER RELEASE 1.1

The 2009 MdTL HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL

Here are some pictures from this rollicking event . . .

Please CLICK on photos to view full size



Post and Photos by Marc Finkel

Confessions of a Green Committee Member

Does it seem sometimes that “going green” or “being green” is a competition or an opportunity to judge others, whether positively or negatively? It shouldn’t be necessary to categorize people in terms of their greenness or their willingness to become so. I find that we go through life absorbing and responding to whatever we can at that moment, and boy is it an ever-changing process! I remember back to the days when I would go on long car rides for fun, not having any idea of the impact of gasoline use (granted I had just gotten a drivers license…). I remember that it was normal to let the water run the entire time that I was brushing teeth, and that a visiting high-school friend once turned off the faucet for me, shocked that I could be so wasteful; I had honestly never thought about it before.
My green habits have evolved gradually over the years, some gleaned from friends, others derived from books, yet others through my own observations. I’m one of those people who think that if something is the “right” thing to do, it should happen overnight! So at times I have felt frustrated and guilty about my still un-green habits, either because I haven’t been able to expend the energy (no pun intended) to make the shift quite yet, or because I honestly don’t know what the better solution is. So I confess that we are still working our way through a humongous box of cheap plastic kitchen trash bags from Target. And I confess that we’re still using pull-up diapers at night more than 3 years after being potty-trained during the day. And I confess that we still don’t turn off and unplug our electronics regularly. I confess! But I am working on these things to the best of my currently overtaxed abilities. More important, however, than the details of our greenness, is the fact that each of our actions produces ripples that impact us all. “One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star” (Loren Eiseley). I see both the potential beauty and the potential destruction lurking within each of us, but I am choosing to focus on the beauty.

Post by Linda Kealey

SHUTTER RELEASE 1.0

Once or twice a month I'll get the urge to strap on my camera and look around for something interesting to photograph.

I used to always carry my camera/s with me everywhere I went but now, as a responsible parent, its become more important to keep my hands on the wheel rather than my finger on the shutter.

So when I do head out to prowl around for a few decent images I tend to lean more towards art than journalism.

"ART" meaning a simple, relaxed act of quiet self expression and escapism.

CLICK

It's good for my soul (whatever that means).

Marinwood Leaves

I grew up in New England. Four TRUE seasons. Fall was my favorite. Cool crisp air, wonderful apples and TONS of colorful leaves.

I remember watching and waiting for the leaves to fall. It was always a lucky rush to get to see one break free and follow it as it glided down to the ground.

When I saw these Marinwood leaves, so beautifully back lit by the late afternoon sun, it triggered a WOW response. You know, one of those faint connections to the past.

Fortunately it happened to be one of those days that I had my camera with me.

So I tried to do them justice.

Please CLICK on photo to view full size
Post and Photo by Marc Finkel

MY PARENT NETWORK

There's an image that has been with me a lot lately. You know the Verizon Wireless ads for America's largest and most reliable network? The one that's always with you; the crowd of support at your heels? Yes, that one. Only instead, I keep picturing a network of reliable parents, following me around everywhere--and I kind of like it.

In the morning when I'm fixing breakfast, packing lunches, feeding animals, providing intermittent crisis management and trying to get dressed, I suddenly flash on every parent I know doing the exact same thing at the exact same moment. Then, during one of my superb parenting moments I picture everyone wildly cheering for me; and with my inevitable flops, I picture everyone nodding with loving understanding.

So, if it's alright with you, I'm going to save these images,––because they're helping me, at a very busy time, to take it all a little more lightly. My life: it's crazy; it's relentless; and it's beautifully not just mine.

RESPONSIBILITY

Parents are queuing up for the sustainability movement. Why? Well, regardless of your party line, we all know how to carry responsibility--and change it, and feed it, and worry obsessively about it; and at the end of the day...madly love it. Truth be told, we can't get enough of it.

The earth has always been and is becoming again--a parent's best friend. When we are tired and operating at 11% we need only to walk outside and all is restored. Ever notice how being outside means saying 'no' less, or how for some reason your leg doesn't become the most interesting thing when dirt is present?

Nature calms us all; she is the perfect tonic for the young and the old and it is our responsibility to protect her and care for her––and properly introduce our children to her. When parents respect their environment, children do too. When we take the time to compost, recycle, garden, and support one another, our children learn firsthand about the beauty of responsibility.