The Privilege of Parenting

People often ask me why I do what I do. I think it is so important for people to understand the passion I have for helping people be the best parents they can be and to get educated about the process. Parenting is truly a privilege. This episode I decided to open up a little about my past to help you understand a little more about where this passion comes from. You were all so supportive when I was honest about my struggles with fertility, so I wanted to be honest with you about my relationship with my own mom as well. The thing is, as parents we help to shape our children. Of course, there are many other things that go into who they become, but parents have a lot to do with it. This honor should be taken so seriously, and I think it’s at the core of what I do.

Honestly at the beginning of the season I had no idea things would take such a personal direction. But finding out I was having a girl and coming to terms with my speech issues brought to the forefront so many issues from my past that I think I had chosen to lock away. I'm good at locking things away in tiny boxes in my head! It’s a survival technique...probably not a good one, but hey, I am a work in progress! Pregnancy is really a time to come to terms with the parts of you that you don't like, because as a parent, we have to love who we are. We have to be proud of ourselves so we can be role models to our children. If there is any self-hate in there, it will get brought out the moment you look into your child's eyes, because you'll want to hide those sides of you and doing that in my opinion always leads to disaster. Children know when you are not being honest with them about whom and what you are.

So I decided to take a long, hard look at who I am, why I do what I do, and to try and get to a better place with what I think about myself so I can be the best role model possible for my children. I hope in some way that understanding better who I am will help all of you in your own lives get to a place of love for yourself. Whether you are becoming a parent, already are a parent, or not one yet a parent, you deserve it! Life is just too short to live so full of pain. If I can do it, so can you.

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