Mommy Moment....

Hello and happy Monday!

Last week I was honored to attend a speaker series to initiate the kickoff of B.I.G. (Believe Inspire Grow) NYC.  For any women business owners it is so worth checking out! :)

Anyway - there were two wonderful speakers and today I want to talk today about Katherine Dickson.  She is a successful actress who came to talk about overcoming obstacles and gratitude.  She spoke about multiple successes and multiple challenges she has overcome.  After only a few weeks of marriage to the love of her life she and her son and stepson were playing in a park when she suffered a severe head injury.  After waking up from a coma and a difficult journey to walk and talk and see - she found her self locked in a pattern of self pity.  Years were spent in pain physically and emotionally. Katherine's words were so moving and in a room full of women, not a dry eye... 

Then the moment that resonated so loudly with me.  Katherine said her teenage son had made the Jr. Olympics but did not want to compete.  She asked him why he didn't want to go and he said to her, You don't try, why should I?"  That was it, that was Katherine's moment she unpacked her bags from her honeymoon (yes 9 years later) and she started to make phone calls and rekindled her once successful career.  That moment she realized how her actions affected her children and she had a life changing moment.  Everything changed from that point on.

I was truly grateful to hear of her transformation and to have been given the opportunity to meet such a beautiful and inspiring woman!

This entry is called "mommy moment".  Why - Because as moms we all have moments where we realize that no matter what we say or how we parent our children the most influential lessons they get from us are from watching what we do - whether we like it or not.

The vast majority of us have not experienced the obstacles Katherine has in her life, yet we have all had those moments when our children do or say something that hits us like a ton of bricks.  They learned something from us that we did not want or expect.
It could be something little like when my daughter at age 2 cursed (appropriately I might add) when a car cut us off and I hit the brakes hard.  It made me realize that the potty mouth should be somewhat curbed... somewhat... I'm still working on that one.

Kindergarten meeting and the teacher tells me that my child is a "rule follower".  That is not a bad thing but like any strength, taken too far it can become problematic.  This is a big one for me.  I am honest to a fault and have a strong need to follow the rules.  I saw that trait in my child and realized that she is learning from me.  As proud as I am of the values I have taught her, I also know that taken to an extreme it can be problematic.  So when the teacher asked what my goals for her were that year I replied, "FUN".  I want her to learn to have fun.  Relax.  Not to take anything too seriously...  Things I needed to figure out as an adult. 

We all have mommy moments, big and small.  None of us are perfect, despite our need or want to be.  These mommy moments are beautiful gifts given to us to shine a light on something we may not have been able to quite see ourselves.

So I ask the moms out there - have you had a mommy moment? 
If so, how did that motivate you to make a change or turn it into a learning moment?
I would love to hear from you!