Happy New Year!!

We've finally stepped into 2023!  Here's to you starting 2023 off strong.

As we all are enjoying the fresh new optimism that a new year brings, I want to share with you a story I shared as we were kicking off 2021... where many of us were relieved to bring 2020 to a close as it was a year that may have been filled with fear and frustration.

Here you go...

We finally get to welcome 2021!

This is the question I asked myself on New Year's Day… ”What do you want to create in 2021?” There is something special about the beginning of a new year… the blank slate… the stepping into something new. I feel like an artist in front of a blank canvas. This year I’m setting my intention to create a deeper level of presence, deeper sense of team in my family, and more joy.

So, as I woke the morning of January 1st, I was even more present to the energy I brought to the day. I smiled bigger, rolled over, and snuggled my son (who was in bed with me) a bit closer. Smelled his hair. I allowed my cells to open and soak in the moment even more.

Then, I went to the kid’s room. The door was open and my daughter was sitting on her bed, while my middle son was still asleep. I dive in for a hug and a “Happy New Year.”

Then my son woke up and the squabbling started…you know…because there are 3 of them and it happens. I felt my energy start to sink down with them…

This could’ve been the moment I gave up on my intention… after all, they’re squabbling before noon on January 1st! 

This could’ve been the moment I sneakily decide to change my intention (I haven’t shared it with anyone else, so no harm done, right?).

But I didn’t. I noticed it, I allowed myself to feel my resistance to it. This is how I met it, moved through it, and transformed it. This is how I support parents to shift energy.

Why? Because these both are the pitfalls of perfection and fear of failing. Isn't it funny how we as parents meet imperfection and messy moments A LOT?

Here's the thing...perfection doesn’t connect.

So what does connect?  Being human. We actually connect through those imperfect moments.

So today I laughed, sang really loud, cried, felt joy, felt anger, was grateful, playful and present. I shifted that moment with my kids by meeting it first.

And there will be more moments of those for me to meet this year.

So was my day a mess or a success?

Well… it was BOTH.

That’s actually the key. It’s knowing that we can experience it all, feel it all, and still stay true to our intentions.

So here’s to a January 3rd that is both a mess and a success today.

And let me leave you with this...

As we look ahead to 2023... or any moment of inspiration to usher in new intentions and leave behind that which isn't serving us, consider your intention.

What is your intention for you and your family in 2023? What are your three words for what you want your relationship with your children to look like on December 31st, 2023? What systems and structures of support do you have in place to get you there?

If you want support in creating the kind of deeply connected and loving home you crave for you and your kids, come check out The Cove. 

The Cove is the only group coaching community designed to support caring and committed parent of strong-willed kids break free of the roller coaster of over-giving, snapping then regret, so that your child can be resiliant, humbly confident, and considerate person he already iss, all without sacrificing either your needs or the needs of the family.