Bye bye self.....it's been fun, but I have found Somebody else

I have left the building....I will no longer update this blog....

Come and visit at All the pretty things

Suzin

Distraction-my sin of choice

Seeking me...Really, what was I thinking!

So most of the "comments" I receive from this blog come through email. I am not sure what that is about-why people don't comment right where there is a comment button, but whatever.. perhaps it is more personal, more private, and I get that for sure. I have made some nice connections with people through this blog thing and I like that.

Anyway... in talking with one of those people, something that she said really grabbed me.. I mean, light bulb, ahh moment, divine revelation-you know those moments....

So, as a result I am changing this blog and the blog name and all of that.. and given that I am not that frequent of a blogger, perhaps I will lose some readers-the ones that don't comment, just view. Maybe they won't be able to find me, but I will try to figure out some sort of re-routing thing. Those regulars-well, we email each other for the most part, so they'll get it...

Desperately seeking suzin....a popular 80s movie, which of course is where I got the title, but it's message and the point of this blog was in some small way to journal my quest for self-discovery. I know, sounds sort of "New Agey" and that really wasn't my intention, it is just that for many years, I have felt like someone with multiple personality, with two sets of lives, two sets of desires, two sets of values, and all polar opposite... So, I was thinking that through journaling and basically processing my thoughts through the written form.. well, that would help me merge the two worlds.

What I realized... with the help, of course, of some pretty great friends, is that I am seeking ME, and quite frankly, I am not who I should be seeking. Of course, I am still struggling, of course I am still working through things, of course I feel no more settled and secure that I did before this whole blog thing... I am most definitely seeking the wrong person....I have the wrong Autopilot!!!

Almost every discussion with friends, almost every message preached on Sunday, every Bible Study time, every book, every song, every "inner nudge" has been pointing to the same thing... I need to really forget about me and focus on Him-a deeper relationship, a more intentional seeking of His will, His desires, His values....This blog title in light of this revelation (which I realize is common sense if you are a Christian, but I cannot begin to tell you how deep this truth is for me right now and how radically it is changing my life.. and in ways I am not that comfortable with let me tell you, but that is a post for a different day..) seems almost sacreligious.

So, off I got to find something different. A new name, a new focus, new themes, more pictures... Yes, Jenny I heard you!!! Of course, I have to figure out how to do all of that, but hey, the one great thing about Gary not working out of the house is that he is pretty handy with all of this.....

Seeking something that most certainly is not me......

Me

Truth

Hold Onto Your Kids!!!!

This book has completely changed the entire way I parent. I mean, I am pretty "smart" when it comes to this parenting thing. I taught parenting courses early in my social work career and studied child development, parenting approaches, and various family theories. When I say "smart" of course we know what that means-book smart. You have to remember, I taught parenting before I even had children!!! Who lets someone do that. I knew really nothing to be honest....

I spend my days now, as my side bar indicates, working with children who have been abused, suffered various traumas, etc. As a result, I have access to child psychologists and attend a variety of workshops and training. I am lucky in a sense, although I do talk often about how my work, specifically in attachment theory (which I fully subscribe to, by the way, and not the Dr. Sears version, but actually scientific attachment theory, but I digress...) completely messed up the first 6 months of my parenting journey, but that is a story for another time!!

Anyway, the program I work has the work of Daniel Hughes as our foundation, but lately, we have been studying and learning about the work of Gordan Neufeld. He wrote the book shown above, Hold Onto Your Kids. I saw him lecture in Ottawa about a year ago, then watched a DVD he has based on the book and then re-read the book again. It is so unbelievably life changing for me in terms of the response I give my children, specifically Mahone. Seamus we have parented following his approaches instinctively given his special needs and emotional sensitivities. Mahone however, we have not, and oh boy, what a difference it makes.

What he recommends takes work and takes a thick skin-there is nothing worse than being in public, having your child be disobedient and you not react in the way that is custom for our society-to actually not really react at all. Trust me, you would be surprised at the reactions from others your lack of reaction causes!!!! I know, I have heard it all in No Frills!!!!

Anyway, I highly recommend the book and the DVD. It is a heavy book in some ways and while some of it is "common sense" and very traditional and back to basics parenting, it totally is counter cultural and fantastic.

A blog I follow-The Parenting Passageway-has been reading the book and provides a summary of each chapter with some comments. I highly recommend anyone interested to look at that blog and the back entries for the chapters they have already reviewed. That particular blog is from a Waldorf perspective, but it is nicely matched with Neufeld's work. In fact, maybe that is why it reasonates so deep for me-he provides a researched theory and words to something I feel I have known instinctively.

I will say though, one thing I have really learned about myself is how ingrained certain patterns are for me and how even when I know better and fully believe in something different, when I am tired or stressed, I fall back on the same old routines and habits... This book is challenging my inconsistent nature let me tell you!!!!

Anyway, I could write/talk forever about this book, its principles and ideas... It is consuming so much of Gary and I's conversations, not to mention all that I talk about at work, and since this blog is supposed to be about me and my search for what is true to me, then I thought I should share!!

Enjoy

Me

life savings...

Kevin from Home Alone (the movie): "Oh look, this is Buzz's life savings."

Mahone-watching his favorite movie that perhaps is inappropriate for his age: "What's life savings mama, money?"

Me: "yes, sort of like that."

Mahone: "sometimes life savings can be credit cards mama. Tomorrow let's buy our life savings."

Somewhere in The Middle