MY RETURN TO BLOGGING
Somewhere along the line, life got busy and I stopped writing. I assume that this is the plight of most Mom’s, well really anyone in such a busy World. Either way, I stopped and since have been so full of things to say. I don’t think my mind ever sleeps. It’s probably impossible for anyone that knows me to believe but I have more thoughts running through my mind at any given moment than I do words coming out of my mouth! Ha!! And I am a self proclaimed chatterbox! A couple of years ago I got laryngitis twice within a few months of each other and for the first time in my life might I add! It made me crazy but boy did my husband and daughter live it up! They talked non stop! I had to listen! Just listen! Which kinda made me nuts because I couldn’t add my two cents but I also learned a lot!
SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT FIT
But I digress, since the time of my last writing, my family and I have lived in three states! And to make it even crazier, we transitioned between those three states all within a ten month period. We left South Florida for rural Pennsylvania on the last day of September of 2018 to work with foster kids in Berks County. After getting to know the area and realizing that the organization was not at all as expected and most definitely not a place that we felt was a good environment to have our daughter, we accepted a position just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Talk about a major change! Especially after being so acclimated to the South Florida lifestyle. On the bright side, I was able to reconnect with three different girlfriends from my early 20’s whom either lived in the Tulsa area or within a few hours from there! I am forever grateful for the time that I and my family got to spend with these beautiful ladies and their amazing families. Getting to see our kids become friends and our husbands hit it off as well was priceless! I am so thankful to have been able to rekindle my friendships and to know that I connected with young women in my early 20’s that will be my lifelong friends. Oklahoma was definitely a better situation than Pennsylvania had been but still just was not a good fit for our family. And to top things off, we all were homesick for South Florida which in many ways had become our true home. I can’t even begin to describe how good it felt when we got back here in the beginning of August 2019.
Over the time that I’ve been away from blogging one thing has remained steady. With our daughter, Hayden, we continue to raise her using a method of teaching Affirmation Statements. We have strongly emphasized to her that the thoughts she holds in her mind are projected outward and will become the reality of her life. Several years ago, we began to use a self made quote, “As A Girl Thinketh, So Is She”. My husband and I derived it from another quote, “As a Man Thinketh, So Is He”, (Proverbs 23:7) and also from the book, “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen, published in 1903. Hayden will echo back to us, “So Is She” to our, “As A Girl Thinketh”. Over time, I believe that the quote will take on a deeper and greater meaning for her, but as for now and the preceding years it simply means to her that whatever thoughts (which also majorly include her mood) she projects will dictate what she gets back. Happy thoughts = a Happy Day/Situation. Sad/Mad/Angry/Negative thoughts beget the same results or situation.
I have always thought that this was important for her to know/understand and internalize but over the last year it seemed to be essential for her well being. For a mostly introverted child, it is so difficult to put yourself out there to make friends and to have the self esteem to feel that you are worthy of more friends than you enter a new school with! Which is resounding zero friends. I know, because I was that child! I was painstakingly shy and introverted. I can still feel the feeling in the pit of my stomach of having to approach people I didn’t know and was interested in having as friends. I didn’t know how or what to say and definitely thought they wouldn’t think I was cool enough to warrant their time. I knew when I had Hayden that I didn’t want that feeling for her and that if she were to inherit my personality then I needed to do something different and to start early. So our daily affirmation mantras were born. “I am smart.”, “I am kind”, “I am a good friend.”, “I am beautiful.” and the list goes on! Followed by our teaching, “As A Girl Thinketh, So Is She”, when we felt she was old enough to understand.
What we have done with her has made such a difference in her confidence. There were also many times over the years where it had a hand in changing her sour mood around. I felt like I would be amiss not to share what we have learned works so effectively with her. And I believe that sharing these practices could help other parents breed self confidence and positivity into their own children. In a World where social media and information is available everywhere one turns, often brimming with negativity, we, as a society, must latch on to the tools we find to counteract that negativity. I can not imagine there being anything more viable than ones own thoughts! They are the only thing that every single human that walks the face of this Earth has access to and has the ability to take on total control. One only needs the right tools and guidance to realize that they can develop their thoughts to benefit themselves as they wish. All of this applies just as well to all the little boys, men and grown women out there. Just tweak the words to fit your need! But considering that I’ll be sharing my journey with our daughter and that I also am on the same journey through life, I’ll continue with, “As A Girl Thinketh, So Is She”. I hope you’ll join me on this journey!
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