Well... we made it! 2020 is over. I had a look back at my first posts of 2020 and thought I would reflect on then and now! https://othermother.blog/2020/01/03/resolutions/ My first post of the year I reflected on the resolutions most people make at the beginning of the year. Somehow when we reflect back on the… Continue reading Resolved for 2021
Category: Parenting
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all! I hope your day is filled with much to be thankful for and the knowledge that you are loved! It has been fun to celebrate with two very excited Foster Children who know what to expect this year! They were talking about nothing but stockings and opening presents for the last… Continue reading Merry Christmas!
Loophole or Letter of the Law
The latest restrictions because of the Covid-19 Pandemic have me thinking about why we do the things we do. Are you the kind of person who adheres to the Letter of the Law? Or are you the person who looks for the Loopholes? I think it says a lot about how you see your world.… Continue reading Loophole or Letter of the Law
Covid Can’t Stop Christmas
More restrictions. No way to get over this other than to go through it. You can look for the loop holes... or you can stop whining and complaining and look for ways to make this an amazing Christmas. Be creative. Be Positive. Inspire hope. Spread peace. Act in love. Let there be joy! There are… Continue reading Covid Can’t Stop Christmas
Hope in unexpected places
This week I have been surprised by hope! Let me back up and tell you the story. Our Foster Son was on the receiving end of some consequences this week. Our decision was to take away all screen time for 5 days. For a teen this is the equivalent of ripping out an eye on… Continue reading Hope in unexpected places
One Size Fits All
Can you think of another commonly seen statement that is overwhelmingly untrue! The idea that one size will work for everyone is a great theory... but it just isn't true! Not even in hats! I have seen it amended to read One Size Fits Most... but even that is problematic. Our Foster Son completed a… Continue reading One Size Fits All
Love
Love is an action word. It isn't a fluttery feeling in your stomach although it can cause that. It isn't flowers and chocolates although those things can be an expression of love. It isn't romance although we all see love in the midst of romance. This past weekend my son got married. A wedding is… Continue reading Love
Grief
This week I grieved. We have many reasons to celebrate and I want to engage fully in the weekend ahead and yet sorrow kept welling up. So I let myself experience the grief. Grief is a sneaky emotion. It doesn't really follow the rules and is prone to invade at the worst possible moments. This… Continue reading Grief
Say what you mean
"Don't turn the frying pan on if it's going to take you 10 minutes to get your eggs in there!" These were my words of frustration as I walked into the kitchen to see a smoking frying pan and my Foster Son standing staring off into space as he shook his eggs in a container.… Continue reading Say what you mean
Be kind to yourself
Have you ever wondered why some days or weeks just seem to be loaded with things that get you down? Why do things seem to pile up on certain days? I had a couple of those days... A comic from Nathan Pyle Strange Planet I got up in the morning and started rushing to get… Continue reading Be kind to yourself
Fear
As we approach Halloween I see more and more decorations out that celebrate the macabre. A house down the street from us has skeletons climbing over the house, and it's lit up at night with eerie purple lights. I smiled when I saw it... thought, "Cute." Cute? Really? How did symbols of death and mortality… Continue reading Fear
Values
I have been thinking a lot about values lately. There are things that we assume are universal that are actually just a part of our value system. It is very disruptive when we run into people that don't hold the same values we do. The thing is, we often don't recognize that something is a… Continue reading Values
Change
How do you feel about change? What is your first response when something changes? Things are changing all around us in the midst of this pandemic. Things we thought would always be the same are suddenly different. Our home has had quite a few changes in the last little while. Those changes have ranged from… Continue reading Change
How much?
How much do you do to support another person? When does helping become enabling or even hurting? How do you know when you've reached the line? These are all questions we have been asking ourselves the last little while. As Foster Parents we have been thrown into a world that is new to us. The… Continue reading How much?
Setbacks
How do you deal with setbacks? When something is in between you and a goal what is your response? How hard are you willing to fight to overcome it? I think the answer probably has something to do with whether or not you can see the end goal clearly. This past weekend we were scheduled… Continue reading Setbacks