My husband and I were talking to our teenage daughter recently about whether or not we’d allow her to go to a certain party. It had been a long week and I was decision weary, but like an air traffic controller yearning to ease off the sky watch for a few minutes, I knew it wasn’t a good time for us to slack off on our parental vigilance. We ended up nixing that party because of sketchy details but agreed we’d stay open to considering other such “opportunities” on a case-by-case basis. I think we made the right call, but as usual, felt tiny jabs of uncertainty.
As parents we are judge and jury for an endless stream of verdicts on big and little issues related to our kids, and no matter how much information and advice we may get from trusted friends, books, websites and professionals, in the end it’s just us needing to decide with nobody there to pat us on the back and confirm that we were absolutely correct. It’s one of the toughest parts of the job.
In this issue we write about two issues related to staying healthy: immunizations and meditation. Learning to bring attention and calm focus to the constant stream of decisions one faces as a parent is good medicine for everybody. I consider meditating my way of pushing my “reset” button and highly recommend that you give it a try.
Let go of the past – it’s gone. Stop worrying about the future – it isn’t here. All you’ve got is right now – focus just on this fleeting moment. That’s the essence of practicing mindfulness — a wise and comforting philosophy for moms and dads, wouldn’t you agree?
