Kindergarten Mom Turns Down the Book of the Month

I’ve been a Kindergarten Mom for less than two months now and I’ve already been challenged with obstacles from packing the right lunches, to dropping my kids off at the right door to making choices not to participate in certain activities we don’t agree with. 

I’ll be honest in sharing that I’m not excited about all the future additional decisions that come with having kids in school.  However, I know I must accept, own and embrace the experiences as best as I can so that I continue to grow along with our children. 

Our elementary school offers a great program for the students.  It’s something called, one book, one school where the entire school, (in our case K-5) read the same book.  Well, the book they chose was Maltida. I’m very familiar and love the story, but I was shocked that this was picked for the parents to read to kindergarteners.  

The Stink Eye

My husband and I gave it a try of course.  But within the first few pages, my husband and I kept catching ourselves giving each other the “what the heck stink” eyes. It didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel appropriate. 

Many of the words we were reading, our 5-year-old twins were hearing for the first time. Idiot, dumb, stupid and much more—I didn’t want those teachable moments to be forced like that, let alone out of our mouths first. 

It just felt off for both of us and we decided to inform the teacher that we were going to pick another book to read. We were both nervous and of course, feared judgment because it’s only human to second guess parenting. And…we didn’t want their teacher to think we were going to be the pain in the ass parents, LOL.  

Proud

Now, it feels soo good that we made that decision and we actually picked an amazing book to read. I gotta say how proud I feel to be able to follow my intuition and go for it. To actually implement the desires I’ve been envisioning to implement as a parent for years. There have been so many things I said was going to do and never did, so I’m finally doing something, HA! Like yearly Santa photos, um nope, didn’t even get one.

My Childhood

Growing up I remember attending church, going to Sunday School and using that Aunt Jamima looking glue. Until one day we stopped. From my memory, it was after my grandmother passed that we stopped going, my Father’s Mom.  From then, religion wasn’t part of our childhood nor my adulthood. 

Rock Bottom

Until I hit rock bottom— a few times. Over a decade ago I started taking the steps to heal and have now found happiness, inner peace, love, and success.  I even have a new connection to the Universe, God and/or that Higher Power that some of use.

Changing Patterns

I’ve decided to change the patterns for my children, and my husband is on board too. I recently read The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein and it shifted my love, belief and trust paradigm—big time. 

Sometimes I chant “The Universe Has My Back” throughout the day as I manage to run a business, nurture my children, take care of the house and keep a healthy relationship with my husband.  Sometimes, you need all the support you can get, right?

So that’s the book we decided to read to our twins and they’re loving it so far.  We have conversations about love, God, The Universe, and mantras to help calm ourselves down when we’re feeling frustrated.

They get to learn about fear, faith, love, angels and speaking the truth and I’m loving their expressions as I read it to them.  In time, they’ll read Maltida, but for now, I want to read, teach and nurture them a book that as a family, we will grow and strengthen our minds together. 

This minor choice seemed so big to my husband and I that it gave me a “badass mom” kinda feeling. And I’ll take those moments of success and badass as often as I can. Wouldn’t you?

I’ve made a little list of a few random thoughts and wins, according to me of course.

• I (my husband and I), made a parenting choice together and feel even more connected because of these new experiences we are having as a team. It seems so silly, but these moments are creating more magic between us.

• I feel like the leader I want to be by teaching my kids important mental health, self-love, trust, and belief as early as possible. 

• There will always be judgers and haters, I know this and I know that it has nothing to do with me.

• I will also respect the teachers and school, while at the same time voice my concerns and do the best I can with what I know and how I see the situation.

• I’m going to stand proud and strong in teaching my kids love, kindness, trust, and all about the Universe and God so that they feel comfortable and knowledgeable. 

• Us Moms, all of us do the best we know how to at any given moment and experience. I must remember progress will always be tied to parenting, not perfection.

I’d love to hear how you’re owning and embracing motherhood and if you have any tips for a newbie kindergarten Mom, feel free to share. 

Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement.

We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.

1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re not talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.

I’ve accepted that this whole parenting thing is chaos, but you can make it fun. I’m embracing the moments that are pushing me to become “more adult” because sometimes I feel like I”m still too young to be a Mom or not “mature enough’ to be a Mom. I’m always still working on my confidence as a parent and I accept that.

2. Appreciation is everything. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?

I appreciate all the new friends that I’m meeting and I appreciate the teachers and all who have been taking care of my babies at school. What a team effort and system these schools have in place.

3. Share with us one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.

I’m proud of my husband and I have raised kind kids so far! I’m proud we made it 5 years of parenting, thank you God, thank you Universe for the opportunity to be a Mom and the daily chance to always give my best.