The story I tell today really happened. The year I was nine, we headed up to Montréal from our home in New England to spend the Christmas holidays with our extended family as usual.
But this trip was anything except for "usual!"
It took us more than 54 hours to complete the trip – which normally takes 8-hours – and included many harrowing moments as my mom tried desperately to get herself and us 3 kids safely to her once-a-year time with the family she loved and missed so much.
Click weturnedoutokay.com/127 for links to WGBH studios – where I was invited to tell this story live on stage – and to Mass Mouth, the awesome Massachusetts storytelling organization!
Are you feeling overwhelmed in your parenting?
Check out the Ninja Parenting Community, for expert advice about how to handle anything your kids throw at you!
We've got training courses – like the Sanity With Kids course, about staying sane even while raising kids – exclusive members-only calls, vibrant forums, and lots of ways to feel better.
Click here to check out the community, I hope to see you in the forums!
Today I'm asking the question: "what matters most… To your kids?"
It's something I've been thinking about since speaking with Jonathan Fields, this past Tuesday's guest.
Through his Good Life Project podcast, Jonathan has been a HUGE mentor of mine. Tuesday we found out who some of Jonathan's mentors are; one turns out to be Milton Glaser, a man who helped Jonathan realize the value of structuring your life so that you prioritize the things that matter most.
What mattered most to Jonathan: time with his wife and their daughter.
This dovetails nicely with what matters most to our kids: it's the time we spend with them.
Click weturnedoutokay.com/126 for full show notes and key links – enjoy the show!
I've been a huge fan of Jonathan Fields' Good Life Project podcast for over a year now; the guests, subject matter, and message have been instrumental in my life and We Turned Out Okay.
So, when Jonathan accepted my invitation to come on my show, I did a happy dance! (I was already doing one anyway… Jonathan's book, How to Live A Good Life, came out right around the time of our conversation : )
If you're trying to figure out how to survive these next weeks – if you're feeling overwhelmed, and not as joyful as the season suggests you should – you are going to love the show.
Also - are you feeling overwhelmed in your parenting?
Check out the Ninja Parenting Community, for expert advice about how to handle anything your kids throw at you!
We've got training courses – like the Sanity With Kids course, about staying sane even while raising kids – exclusive members-only calls, vibrant forums, and lots of ways to feel better.
Click here to check out the community, I hope to see you in the forums!
Go to weturnedoutokay.com/125 for show notes and key links!
I'm cranking up the mic for two reasons today:
1) listening back to episode 123, where Ninja Parenting Community member Sabrina shared her concerns about holiday overwhelm and helping her girls handle gift-giving, I wanted to create something to help you if you're facing those same problems…
So, I did! Download the FREE 3 Principles of Kids and Gifts if you want help:
– cutting through the gift giving insanity and overwhelm
– finding solutions that work for your whole family – including you.
– Truly enjoying celebrations, with less stress
Click this link to download them today and make the most of the season!
2) an article I read in the paper today, two Saturdays before Christmas eve, really got me thinking about a problem unique to the family gatherings we will all be attending this year. The article reads in part:
"But some non-Trump voters are not yet in a place where they can joke.
That includes [a Dad who shall remain nameless, because he represents a great many people listening today] and his family. This year they will not go to his wife's great aunt's Christmas gathering, in large part for fear of an argument breaking out in front of their 6-year-old daughter.
"She doesn't understand why people like this person, said [this Dad], referring to Trump, "and to explain to her that people in her own family like this person – it would be a lot for her to process."
– "Can The Holidays Be Happy?" The Boston Globe, Saturday, December 10th, 2016
In the wake of that article, I'm wondering: how are you?
Are you worrying about attending family gatherings this year, when it all feels so contentious?
I really hope this episode helps you, if that's the case. Click here to get the full show notes and key links!
Recently I did an episode called How to Help Kids Cope with Anxiety Over New Situations, episode 117 – and it got near-record downloads.
In episode 117, we helped Melissa figure out how to help her kids handle new situations better – and even how to handle new situations better herself.
(Episode 117 is a recording of a coaching call with a Ninja Parenting Community member – if you want to become a member of our community and get all your parenting questions answered, click here.)
The amount of downloads made me realize something: Melissa is not the only one listening with some anxiety over new situations!
Today, I dig into the idea of anxiety, especially when travel and extended family are involved.
Recorded in December, I hope this episode helps you prepare for year-end gatherings and holiday celebrations.
If you're listening after the holidays, it will still be helpful because new situations happen all the time, we parents often expose our kids to new situations, even outside of this season.
Click weturnedoutokay.com/124 for full show notes and key links. I hope this episode helps you!
Today, Ninja Parenting Community member Sabrina shares about the concerns she's having right now: how to manage her children's expectations, everyone's feelings of overwhelm – and balancing her own needs with the needs of her family.
Recorded in early December, Sabrina has both a daughter's birthday coming up as well as the busy and overwhelming-in-and-of-itself holiday season.
Sabrina got to have this conversation with me because she is a member of our Ninja Parenting Community.
If you want my help sorting out your toughest parenting issues, you should join too!
We've got training courses – like the Sanity With Kids course, about staying sane even while raising kids – exclusive members-only calls, vibrant forums, and lots of ways to feel better.
Click here to check out the community, I hope to see you in the forums!
Click weturnedoutokay.com/123 for show notes and key links!
Are you feeling overwhelmed in your parenting?
Check out the Ninja Parenting Community, for expert advice about how to handle anything your kids throw at you!
We've got training courses – like the Sanity With Kids course, about staying sane even while raising kids – exclusive members-only calls, vibrant forums, and lots of ways to feel better.
Click here to check out the community, I hope to see you in the forums!
You may know Jocelyn and Shane Sams from their entrepreneurial podcast, Flipped Lifestyle… "Where Life Always Comes Before Work." This fun and inspirational couple has figured out a way to make their living online, thus spending more time on the important stuff – like raising their 7 and 5-year-old kids!
Today's conversation does not get into entrepreneurship at all, except in talking about how this duo functions as a team – without, in their words, "killin' each other."
It does, however, share Shane and Jocelyn's best tips for enjoying your relationships – with work, family, and those closest to you.
Our conversation is in turns hilarious (as in when Shane describes his "safety wipe" potty training method), and tender (I nearly named this episode "love is a verb," I was so moved when Shane and Jocelyn brought up this concept.)
Go to weturnedoutokay.com/122 for full show notes and key links – and enjoy listening. I know you're going to love this one!