Sweating

We all know the expression, made popular by a book, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

There are plenty of small stuff to sweat when you have kids. What to feed them, did you remember to pack diapers, will we be home for naps, should they nap...the list could go on and on. Really, it is all small stuff. The rows and rows of parenting books may have you believing otherwise. It is all too easy to get caught up on the organic debate, the sleeping theories, the discipline theories, early learning, etc. You are responsible for this little person and you don't want to mess it- them -up because you love them fiercely. So, you buy organic, enroll them in music classes at 6 months and suddenly your life is taken over with the small details. Which is why no one wants to get caught in a conversation with you at a cocktail party, unless they have little kids too, in which case you will compete and commiserate with each other all night.

Where was I going with this...

Ah yes, as the book says, "Don't sweat the small stuff." In which case I am left with how to make my kids turn out to be great people. Kind, compassionate, generous, happy, life loving people. To not be like the person on the phone this morning, the clerk at the store, or the grumpy mom on the hayride.

The answer is to be that person myself. Which is pretty tough when stressing and sweating over the laundry, spilled cereal, and other ridiculous details. The details that don't matter. The details that don't make us happy.

I have some tricks up my sleeve to help remind myself to stop, reflect and enjoy. Im not afraid to use ice cream in an emergency, or this blog. Im always looking for new ways to refocus, so share em if you've got em!

ps. the pic is my mom not sweating the small stuff, like a fire in her home - she is smiling because she, and the people she loves, are alive.