Parenting Without a Manual
with Talyaa Liera
I'm Talyaa, the poster child for the concept that there's no one right way to be a parent. I went from stay-at-home attachment-parenting mom of four to being the non-custodial parent, working as a professional writer and channel-psychic. Let's talk about throwing away the parenting manual and exploding the myths and mystique of motherhood!
Check out my personal blog at Juxtapositioning.
|
That’s right, it’s time to play Resolution Roulette! Sure, you know the rules — make 113 impossibly restrictive resolutions on January 1 and by January 16 decide that this is not your year and give up. Yay, you! But you’re not alone. We’ve all been there, done that, and have the tire tracks from the Runaway Resolution Train across our faces to prove it.
But not this year. This year you’re going to stick to a few small changes that you can make work for you. Sure, you could follow Mashable’s small business resolutions. Or go with CBC News and think small. But I say why think small at all? If you’re going to fail, fail big! But I can help you with this. (Um, not the failing part — I have enough on my plate with that as it is. You’re on your own with that.) My resolutions are as follows:
1. Suck less.
2. Play more.
So you can play along, I made some for you too. Five perfect resolutions. Easy to keep.
Have fun with mommy guilt. Instead of guilt being such a downer, why not just enjoy it? Be loud and proud! And here, let me adjust your hair shirt and hand you this wet diaper so you can hit yourself with it over and over. Let your guilt flag fly!
Rekindle the Mommy Wars. No sense letting this flame die down. Lob some eggs at that gaggle of stay-at-home moms over there! I can see this erupting into one massive food fight — awesome! Especially if it’s Jell-O. Who’s in?
Set boundaries at work. Talk to your higher-ups about what you will and will not do for the company. Insist that your title change from “CEO” to “Queen” and that nap time is encouraged for everyone daily. Everyone feels better with definable boundaries. Suggest that your boundaries be in Bermuda. Win-win!
Set boundaries at home. Finding a few small things that everyone in the house knows are important to you can add up to a big difference overall in your peace of mind. Now’s the time to invest in that cabana boy you’ve been talking about. Or to get a big lock and some industrial-strength duct tape. (You’ll soon learn to tune out the cries and screams from behind the door).
Make a “me” date. Once a week, make and keep a date with yourself to do something that nurtures your spirit. Use your time to do something you wouldn’t do ordinarily (pole-dancing? paintball? sword-fighting? sausage-making?).
What are your resolutions this year?
[photo: owaisk_4u, Stock.xchng]
Subscribe to blog via RSS
LOVE this post! Thanks for making me laugh, and take a better look in the mirror. I think i can stick with at least the two goals you have - suck less, play more. Thanks!
mamakerr | December 31st, 2009 at 10:18 am
Play more - with my child rather than the parallel play we’ve fallen into of late. We used to do board games, now it is computer games for one and Nintendo for the other. No more! Board games are coming back at least 2 nights a week.
Mich | January 5th, 2010 at 2:55 pm