This is my first blog entry. Ever. I spent so much time thinking about what to write; well…overthinking, really. I wanted to have good content that would be interesting and helpful to readers. I wanted to reach all kinds of parents and have a little something for everyone. I wanted my content to be relevant and speak to the times. Then I thought, oh screw it. Just write something. Anything. Don’t worry so much about whether or not these blog entries will have some sort of impact and just concentrate on the content, one post at a time. So here I am, putting words to paper. Er, computer? You know what I mean.
It reminds me of something I was told in graduate school: Trust the process. One of my professors would remind my class of this statement anytime we became overwhelmed with the thought of being “fixers”, of having just the right interventions at the right time, and knowing exactly what to say during therapy sessions. She would say this to help us re-center ourselves and to focus more on being present in the moment rather than focusing on the outcome of therapy. This piece of life-changing
wisdom has stuck with me in the years since that class. While it has certainly become an important guidance for my therapeutic work, it also has become my own personal mantra.
Trust the process has been so relevant to me in just about every aspect of my life, especially parenting. Like every other parent out there, I find myself lost in thought (and worry) about things like, will my child do well in school? Will he grow up to be healthy and happy? Will he be independent and live a good life? Will my husband and I survive virtual learning during this pandemic? When I notice myself getting caught up in these questions, I remind myself to focus on the process and not the outcome. Focus on being mindful day to day, moment to moment. This is where the magic happens, really. It’s where pain, frustration, and overwhelm happens. It’s where the long nights, boring days, and tedious tasks happen. It’s where the joy, laughter, and love happens. This is where we grow, change, improve, and deepen in our relationships. We can’t get to the outcome without the process.
So with this in mind, here I am, blogging away. I know that not every post will be a winner, but I am sure there will be some good nuggets and gems here and there. I have ideas on some guest posts that I am really excited about and cannot wait to share with you all. So I’m taking a deep breath and diving in to this new endeavor. Focusing on one word, one sentence, and one paragraph at a time.