A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

We cannot underestimate the power of fatigue to crush the life out of even the strongest of us! Take a nap, swing in a hammock, snooze.

The most difficult resource to keep in stock is rest.

Yet rest changes everything!

It affects our:

• mood
• energy level
• outlook
• ability to respond to crisis
• tolerance for chaos and noise
• generosity toward childishness
• wellbeing
• ability to concentrate

When you find yourself short, disorganized, bored, sounding the alarm that the world is ending, ask yourself when last you got 6-8 hours of sleep without constant interruption.

It’s difficult to catch up when you breastfeed or have a chronic bedwetter. I know. That’s why taking naps, having a partner who can swap sleeps with you (so you’re not on call every night), and even resorting to booking a room at a hotel for a night just for you can change your life.

When in doubt, assume you need more sleep. Then find a way to get it.

(Also: throw in a dose of sunshine. Get outside where the sun can kiss your skin… it helps.)

This post is originally from my @juliebravewriter Instagram account.
Follow along for more conversations like this one!

ALL that matters is that you not persist in a program that deadens the life and learning capacity of your child. If either of you aren’t happy and energized…it’s over.

Remember: you are cultivating a LIFE. Your child’s experience of learning is the key to a healthy, valuable education.

Try all the tricks:

• candles,
• tea,
• cookies,
• back rubs,
• blanket forts,
• twinkle lights,
• moving the lesson outside,
• music,
• petting the dog.

If the program continues to oppress, however, and deaden the atmosphere of the home, there is NO price you paid for it worth ruining your daily lives. See the cost as R&D (research and development).

Change course.

Notice what energizes and move toward THAT.

You have plenty of time to learn. That said, don’t waste your precious days harming your children’s feelings about learning.

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!

The key to fostering a love of learning in children is giving up our need to control the outcome.

Today: let’s be present to what shows up.

When you give your kids something to do, what would it take to stop the automatic image that pops into your mind—the mental yardstick of how the task should turn out?

How can you be with the real child today?

Notice—does my child need:

• support
• celebration
• a break?

If you stay open to what the child offers and then respond with curiosity, you’ll get in sync with your child and learning will be the natural result. Sometimes that means noticing that now is not the time for that lesson. Sometimes it means being astonished by the child’s alternate vision!

Make space today to be surprised by your child and drop resentment. Begin by taking a deep breath, noticing where your feet are, and living in today (not tomorrow or next year).

You got this!

This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!

Join your child in the adventure of living! In the end, what leaves the best impression on your kids is your hearty, enthusiastic participation in the stuff of life.

Last year I spent a weekend with family—especially my five adult kids and their dad. Caitrin, my youngest, got married. What I noticed about all of our family interactions? The stuff Jon and I enjoyed doing the most WITH them is what they still love to do and talk about.

For instance, they’re all readers—big ones! They continue to play games, particularly word games that require lots of nuanced (read: playfully argumentative) discussion around definitions.

Each child is an activist for their values and beliefs. They are attachment parents and aunts and uncles. They believe they can learn to do anything they want to learn and then they teach each other. In fact, Caitrin did all her own flowers for the wedding because she thought she could learn—and then did!

They travel easily and two of them even live abroad. Also: they’re so funny!

Jon and I loved words, books, movies, discussions about our beliefs and values, inside jokes, living in other countries, and marching (at demonstrations!).

So do they.

We aimed to raise good citizens—adults with values and competencies. That’s who we got! It’s impressive and humbling and so satisfying.

You’re forming the culture of your family right now! What do you love to do and do well? That’s the HOME education you are best at giving and it’s the easiest to give.

Lean in. You’re doing so much more right than you even realize!

Remember, habits are often caught more than taught.

This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!