3 Steps to Changing the Narrative for your Child

I want to tell you about this picture because it is a reminder of how we control the narrative for our children. 

Some women are ready for it when it happens, some are more like me...surprised. The moment I became WE. I started my family later in life. I have all you incredible moms out there to thank. I always joke about how you always make everything look like you are having so much fun, looking beautiful, never yelling and gracefully taking each moment in stride. I get it now...YOU are incredibly disciplined life warriors.  You have the ability to forget you are a person at all and think about the little loves in your lives first. There are two traits that are shared by the best moms in my opinion. Selflessness and Humility. 

We Believed.

Savannah and I began our July 4th vacation week with lots of plans and ideas. One of them was Paddle Boarding. It looks simple, I thought to myself and then the moment struck me, as it does almost every hour of every day, that I am a WE. In comparison, everything in life is easier as an I than a WE, when the WE is your child or children. As a mom, it is my job to make sure that if we try this new adventure that is supposed to be fun, that Savannah is safe and happy. From loading the 12 foot board onto the SUV and making sure she stays on the sidewalk, to keeping my life jacket on instead of working on my tan , moms have to be prepared for the unexpected. Between fun activity to reality there are a ton of variables in between. Daunting right...well I think so. For many moms, we may just opt out before we get in too deep, before something "bad" happens. It wouldn't make us bad MOMS, but taking our kids on a new adventure and showing them we can do new and exciting things makes us GREAT moms. 

TRUTH. The idea of all these obstacles from thinking about experiencing this adventure with my daughter became an overwhelming journey and hopefully, yet unexpectedly, ended up with this "great" pic as proof of a wonderful time had by all.

Here is what really happened.

Step 1 : Identifying the Obstacle.

The first rental place I went to wasn't great. The customer service was not personable. This was my first challenge as it reminded me that this was not going to be easy. They agreed with me when I said I don't think my SUV is big enough to transport the board to the lake. They also told me that children's Paddle Boards don't exist. Which is not true by the way. They were overall very negative and that is the last thing a mom needs. After we left without the paddle board I made some jokes with Savannah about how big the board was, how would I carry it, if we got it home how would we get it to the water...it went on and on. A lot of JUSTIFYING the why we COULD'T do it and making myself feel less guilty for disappointing my child.  TERRIBLE. I call this a MOMMY FAIL. I took something that was going to be an adventure and reduced it to a list of WHY WE CAN'T or aren't CAPABLE. 

Step 2 : Realizing We Could 

After going to the lake to swim later that day, I bumped into several inspiring women, ironically, carrying around their paddle boards. Loading them on and off their Golf carts, carrying them into the water like they were carrying groceries. FINALLY I remembered that I COULD and would take my daughter Paddle Boarding. Thank you LADIES. PS, it is not lost on me that it was ALL women I saw. Yes, I believe the universe was guiding ME. Now that I had renewed inspiration, I looked again for a more suitable rental center, one that would launch us right into the water. Once I knew what was making it difficult for me , I was able to identify what would make it easier..that's okay right?! With my renewed intention I was able to find EKAL Activity Center. We were at Lake Winnipesaukee. This place was great!  *Staffed with people that knew WE COULD. 

Step 3: Making it Happen

All of my worries existed for about 10 minutes on the water. Would we fall off the board, could I get to Savannah if she needed help, would boats see us, if I had to jump in would the board float a way, would I be cold? Is all this worrying making your exhausted? Crazy right. Then Savannah asked, "can I swim mommy, will a shark eat me, are there alligators?"

The Teaching Moment.

When Savannah expressed both excitement and fear all of my worries vanished and they we replaced with a great attitude and sense of adventure and courage. I wanted my daughter to feel safe, confident and fearless . The narrative in my head dissipated and was replaced with words of encouragement for my child. I call this moment, the MOMMY WIN.

Please share your adventures with us. Sales@sdesignjewelry.com. 

We believed We could so WE did. 

Love, Tricia & Savannah