parenting... future fridays

Now that I am suddenly so much more aware of parenting, these little snippets about parenthood made me smile and excited about all of the unknowns about to come.

On parenting nostalgia:

“My friend said to me, ‘You’ve loved every stage that your kids have been in. You are sure to love all the stages coming up.’ It has been so true and helpful to remember. Newborns are so sweet and toddlers are so fun but so are school-age kids and honestly teenagers are the best. When they leave home they make you so proud and come back for these great visits. I’m looking forward to what’s next!” – Heather

On tried-and-true advice:

“When my kids were little and we were traveling, I’d always have them pick out some postcards along the way. Then when we were at a restaurant waiting for our meal, it was a great time for them to jot a quick note to grandparents or family back home or even a note to themselves!” — Shelley

“My best parenting tip is to make a habit of narrating how you feel. Kids are not afraid of emotions and they’re not blind to them. If you tell them that you’re frustrated or sad or happy and why, you’ll give them language to talk about what they’re feeling and a sense of how emotions ebb and flow and change over time. I don’t mean a watered down version (like, ‘Don’t worry, Mama’s just tired’). Fall apart a little. Be human. Tell them the truth about what you feel, because they can already see it. Giving them rich, deep language for it shows them that they can experience, tolerate and navigate complex emotions and be open with you about how they’re feeling.” — Olivia

On sweet sayings:

“I was babysitting a kid, and she spaced out majorly one day. I asked her what was up and she said, ‘The store of my head is almost closed,’ WHICH IS SUCH A RELATABLE FEELING.”
— Elina

“When our son was three, we were in a train driving past our old apartment and we told him ‘This is where we used to live before you were born.’ And he said, ‘Yes, that is before I came and found you two rascals.’”
— Anne

“The other night, when I was tucking in my five-year-old for the night, he snuggled up to me and said, “I think, at the mama shop, I got the best mama!” And a few months ago: ‘Just, how do you make a pear? I mean, is it just an apple that you squish with your hands?'” — Isabella




via {cup of jo}