Being a Mommy Takes Ninja Mind Tricks

When my son is trying to do something he is not supposed to (e.g., smush all the toothpaste out of the tube), he gets very quiet.

So then I go check on him.

I quietly approach him.

He has his back to me.

I say quietly, "What are you doing?"

Parker stands still. He looks over his shoulder. He whispers in a menacing tone:

"Go away."

I always laugh.

So, the other day, I decided to use his own trick on him.

He was nagging, as small children do, while I was cooking dinner. It was annoying. I looked over at him over my shoulder.

"Go away," I said in a quiet, menacing voice.

"Uugghh!" he scoffed at me.

When it was dinnertime, my boy said:

"I sit by Daddy. Mommy is being cranky at me."

Whatever works.

Wanna Play?

Something wonderful has happened around here!

For the first time, my boy was asked by a neighbor kid to play outside.

We are entering into an era where The Child can play outside, and I can keep an eye on things here and there while I'm inside.

My son is an only so it sure is nice that he has some other kids to play with, and they're not in my house fighting like brothers and sisters do.

He was so excited by playing with kids outside, he emphatically nodded his head saying, "Yes, Mommy," as I told him, "No going in the street!"

As the kids ran around the front yard, I could see Parker run by in a flash with his hand out in front "spraying" spider webs and shouting, "Here comes Spider Man!"

It's amazing how he's getting older and bigger at lightning speed. His fourth birthday is next week, and it is the first age where being a "big kid" is very important to him.

Obviously, we have not yet hit the phase where being "cool" is extremely important. Thank God.

Stop Thinking so Much (for crying out loud)

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I tend to get slumpy this time of year. As in, the seasonal depression starts to do its work. Either that, or this time of year just feels like a lot of work and no play. For weeks on end.

I tend to go inward and think too much. It is a curse, this thinking. That psychic I went to once was right on when she said, "You think too much!" I was like, "I know." She was like, "I know you know!" (She said that a lot.)

This year, I'd like to kind of figure out myself some more and what I want. Now that my son is approaching the four year old mark, I am starting to wonder about myself again - What has life done for ME lately?

So, being the Oprah lover I am, I sought out the wisdom of O contributor and life coach, Martha Beck.

She was even in my dreams last night! I just can't remember what the hell she was talking about. This can't be good.

I bought her new book:

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I am not even half-way through it, so I have not yet been given my instructional manual for my life.

So far, it has been a lot of teaching on finding WORDLESSNESS.

Martha says we all think too much - I've heard that before! Meditation can help us get closer to our truer nature, our truer self. So that we can feel and hear and know what is best for us. I have had interest in meditation before but have not committed to it wholly.

Martha recognizes the difficulty in achieving a wordless, meditative state. It's kind of hard to just STOP thinking, especially when you tell yourself to stop thinking. So, she has a few easy suggestions for achieving that state. I've been trying to do one or two of those each day.

I was stoked (when's the last time you heard the word "stoked?") to discover the other activities that she suggests to increase "wordlessness" in your life:
Music, singing, playing an instrument, dancing with abandon, drawing and painting, and telling stories through writing, poetry, and expressive story telling.

I do a lot of that already! Yay, me!

When I sing loudly, dance like no one's watching, and get lost in telling a story (whether written or verbal), I am rocking the delight of wordlessness.

Martha says to dance by "dissolving verbal attention into pure movement" and to tell stories to "entertain and feel the rhythm of it."

I do that. I like to do that.

(If you are wondering why some of the above are examples of tapping into a "wordless" state, then you will have to read her book cuz I don't need to get too detailed on your ass here.)

So, I will delight in my play, play more, practice wordless meditation, and ride my way through a year that will bring me closer to myself.

And, yes, I will finish the book. Just couldn't wait to tell ya'll about it already.

Peace out.

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