A beautiful video about breastfeeding.
Category: Parenting
Michael McIntyre
Sometimes as a parent, you just have to laugh about it all. It’s either that or go bonkers. So I began making a habit of finding parenting pictures or videos that would help me laugh out loud and realize I’m not alone.
This video is hilarious, and I think of it every time we leave the house. Don’t get wrapped up in reading all the comments, as I accidentally did. Just enjoy it.
[If I wanted to get all deep about it, I could say how the “people who don’t have kids have no idea” thing can be seen so many ways. There’s a lot of struggle in parenthood that can never be understood by those outside the parenting world, but there are also a lot of truly beautiful, golden, life-affirming moments that will never fully be understood either. (And I really don’t mean to exclude folks here who desperately want children and are facing difficulties making that become reality–I’m so sorry. This is by no means supposed to be any comment on those tough situations.)]
Michael McIntyre on “People Who don’t Have Kids Have No Idea”
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Darth Vader and Son
TED Talk by author Grace Lin
I finally watched Grace Lin’s TED Talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf, and I love it! Wonderfully done, brought tears to my eyes, and definitely got me reflecting on the books we have on our shelves. I’ve always put great thought into which books we own and which books we read from the library. This was a fabulous talk that I highly recommend, especially to parents, teachers, and librarians. (Now my secret wish to be Grace’s best friend is even stronger. I love her so much. =)
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Grace Lin Book List
Do Boys Only Get to Read Half the Books?
The Boy on the Porch
The Boy on the Porch (2013)
by Sharon Creech
This is a very quick read. I read the whole book in my evening reading time before bed last night. There was really no way to stop reading it. The chapters are short, and the “mystery” of the story kept me going.
At first, the general plot sounded similar to the recent Odd Life of Timothy Green movie. A young boy suddenly shows up at a couple’s farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere and they begin to take care of him. That is where the similarities end though- no sprouting leaves here. The boy doesn’t speak, but instead uses tapping to communicate. It’s hard to tell too much of the story without ruining it, but it is a very beautiful story about love, parenting, generosity, and finding your purpose.
The Boy on the Porch (2013)
Quotes:
“It’s okay,” Marta whispered to the sleeping child. “I will sit here all day, if need be.” ch 2
“Even if we never see him again, we know he was here.” ch 48
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More Love, Less Panic
More Love, Less Panic by Claude Knobler (2015)
I was drawn to this book after reading an excerpt from it in Kiwi magazine. The title alone hooked me, More Love, Less Panic. Yes, that is precisely what I need.
Claude Knobler’s book is funny, endearing, honest, entertaining and, for me, incredibly easy to relate to. While Mr. Knobler does talk about his family’s unexpected adoption of a young Ethiopian boy, the lessons of the book are meant to apply to any parent. Like myself, the author tends to worry. A lot. He worries about his children and their habits and futures, their friends and schooling. While parents may not all share the same worries or the same intensity of worrying, we all do it; it just comes with the territory. So, to hear the thoughts of how this father learned to relax into parenthood a bit was a big help for me. A very likable author, relatable stories, and wonderful lessons. I wish there was an audio version of this book!
Quotes from More Love, Less Panic (waaay too many to choose from):
from Lesson One
“Children, after all, do tend to be childish, and then they tend to grow out of it, all on their own. I let go of my fears about what will happen if I don’t nag, because they’re going to grow out of being children and this is my life too. And I refuse to spend too much of it panicked about things I can’t control.”
“And if I believe, as I truly do, that I am not driving a car but am rather, more or less, a passenger on a train whose tracks have already been laid out for me, what’s next is for me to try to figure out how best to relax and enjoy the ride.”
from Lesson Two
“The answer to fear isn’t to try to solve problems that may not exist. It’s to relax and find just a little bit of faith that my kids will find their own paths in life.”
“I have to trust that my kids will respond better to the sight of my positive example than they do to the sound of my shrill nagging.”
from Lesson Three
“If our kids are who they are from the day they’re born, isn’t it possible that our jobs as parents should be a lot more about appreciating them than molding them?”
from Lesson Four
“He did not need to learn how to be more mature any more than I needed to teach him how to get taller.”
from Lesson Five
“The absolute, unavoidable truth about parenting is this: If you never lose your temper with your child, you are not spending enough time with your child.”
from Lesson Seven
“And therein lies the greatest secret of all. The miracle has already happened. All we have to do is never lose sight of it.”