Zen Mommy

I admit that I love magazines.  I do.  I love the perfect, clean, beautiful lives they portray.  I love coveting a certain outfit or accessory, knowing that I'll likely never have it.  Granted, lately my choice in magazines has changed, as has my appreciation for perfection.  For example, this week I received two of my beloved parenting magazines.  (These are super-fun for coveting the coolest baby/kid items.  I wasn't kidding about my taste changing.)  I often read the articles with a small chip on my shoulder.  The whole "do this, don't do that, buy this, monitor that..." sometimes rubs me the wrong way.  We're relative minimalists when it comes to high-tech baby advice, monitoring, etc.  We do co-sleep, don't really use monitors, let the babies eat on demand...most things that would probably be frowned upon.  But it works for us.  (Let's be fair, we also bribe our kids and lose our tempers sometimes.  I may as well just put it all on the table.)  That being said, I read an article today that really hit home, and mostly because this has been what we've been striving for for the last few months.  With chaos literally knocking on our door with the arrival of Baby #3, I really appreciated what this had to offer. 

Here is a summary:

Lessons from a Zen Mommy, by Bethany Saltman (Zen Buddhist)

1.) Do what you're doing while you're doing it.  Translation: Don't multitask.  Give your full attention to each task as you're doing it, therefore giving your best and leaving no one (kid/friend/spouse) feeling less important than they are.

2.) Leave no trace.  Translation: Take responsibility for yourself and your mess.  And teach your children to do the same. 

3.) Take just the right amount.  Translation: Limit acquiring too much stuff.  Ask yourself, "Do I really need as much (food, money, things) as I think I do right now."  Be honest with yourself.  Live simply.

4.) Practice patience.  Translation:  Don't beat yourself up over things.  We all want to be perfect.  We want our kids to be perfect.  But we're not and we won't be.  "It's a life's work to become a decent human being."  Because our kids are constantly changing, we are always beginner parents.  We all need time to learn, make mistakes, and start over. 

5.) Develop rituals. 

6.) Count your blessings.

7.) Remember to breathe.

I want to be a Zen Mommy, too.