Hello world! I’m pretending it’s around 2000, and I’m writing one of my first online posts on Geocities. Ha! Ha! Anyone else remember those days? Oh, it's only 20 years ago.
My voice on the internet has taken so many extra turns since the days of just AOL IM and Windows Live Messenger: Bebo, MySpace, Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, Weebly, Pinterest, YouTube, WordPress, and, of course, Instagram. Know what makes me sad? I can’t go back and access so much of that content. I’ve been creating, writing, speaking, and sharing for two decades, and I have very little to show for it. The content I can still access is so scattered. I even deleted years of newbie teacher classroom blogs one night after a little too much wine and self-criticism. I hear people talk about “starting a blog,” and I chuckle in my head. That’s so 2006! Even though I think a secret part of me misses blogging. So, here I am. Blog post number one, again. I want a digital archive. I don’t want all my writing to disappear into Instagram. I want all of my work to be in one place. And, just in case anyone really, really wants to follow my thoughts, I want to give them a fair chance away from the powers of the algorithm. My plan is to use this blog like a home base for all of my work. I’ll copy my Instagram posts, drop in my YouTube videos, and add in whatever else I’m working on. Maybe I’ll even drip some of my old Instagram posts back in. I just checked I have over 1K posts. I don’t even know where to begin with that. Maybe I’ll make a before-the-blog blog on the side. First, I’m going to add a few of my most recent Instagram posts. Stay tuned! Love, Natalie
0 Comments
“The best gift you can give children is to keep yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually and intellectually happy.”
Our society focuses so much on taking care of moms’ emotions and physical well-being. Spiritual support, in all of its forms, is also common. But what about intellect? Have you ever heard someone ask a mom, “Hey, what are you learning about right now?” No. Why? How can we be expected to teach our kids to be curious unless we are learners ourselves? I’ll be the first to admit that I get sucked right into this. Most of my mom-to-mom conversations just revolve around our kids. I don’t even know what some of my friends are into besides their kids! But, this intellect thing is really important to me—like the author of “The Danish Way of Parenting” describes—it’s equal to my mental and physical health! Know how when you don’t get enough sleep and you’re just off all day? That’s how I am if I’m not learning, mentoring/teaching/helping someone, and/or working on a project. I have to keep my mind busy. Spending time listening to an audiobook while driving, taking an online course while my kids nap, or working on a creative project as they independently play makes me a better mama. It also reminds me that I am more than just a mama. And that makes me a happy parent my little ones can already look up to—even if they think I’m as weird as Noutin did in this picture from a month ago. Let’s get this conversation going, what are you learning about right now? What are you curious about? What are you creating? I’ll go first in the comments below. Quote: The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids by Iben Dissing Sandahl and Jessica Joelle Alexander
“On a perfect day in your perfect little world (and it's always perfect) there is breakfast time, playtime, lunchtime, nap time, snack time, dinnertime, bath time, story time, and bedtime. There is time for everything when you are the timekeeper.”
I remember sitting in my loft with tabs of newborn schedules open on my laptop before Nouarie was born. I wrote down what I thought was the perfect schedule, times and all. Some of you are laughing (experienced moms). Some of you are wondering what the schedule looked like (expecting and future mamas). Some of you may even be still trying to follow a schedule you read about (new first-time mamas). It’s okay. I’m sure you can guess what happened to that schedule. Nouarie and I eventually slowly found our routine. It’s actually pretty similar to the one quoted above that the author of “Momma Zen” created with her daughter. Sometimes I get overly ambitious and to schedule a day with blocks of time the way I did when I was only responsible for myself. It doesn’t work. It just stressed us all out. We’re finally beginning to really get a little rhythm going with little brother included. It begins with morning snuggles in the bed and often ends with two babies falling asleep in my arms. The times change, but the overall routine stays the same. To my handful of new and future mama friends, try to relax. Do what the baby and you need. Your routine will emerge. Give it time instead of timing. Do you follow a timed schedule? A routine? How do your days begin and end? Quote: Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller |
Archives
February 2020
CategoriesNatalie PriesterI'm a teacher, mama, and mentor. I created the You Before School e-course and more. I'm here to encourage and share self-efficacy skills for women. |