Call Me Coach

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I've reflected on my changing roll as a mother frequently this year since my youngest turned 18 and legally, I'm no longer responsible for him or any of my children.

I metaphorically throw up my hands in frustration when I sometimes see my young adults making less than stellar choices, or making no choices at all, which is often worse.

Talking with friends who have adult children, we agree it is harder parenting them now than it was when they were young, mainly because we used to be able to tell our children what to do and they did it.  Now we can tell them what to do and they just ignore us.

Since I'm not Mommy anymore, I have found there are other roles to fill more beneficial to my adults/kids.  So, call me coach.  This is one roll I can fill.  I can encourage.  I can help them set goals (if they ask). I can help develop a life plan (because I want them to succeed).  A life coach, right?

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I asked my daughter exactly what a life coach did because I wasn't sure.  After she explained, I said, "It's a Mommy, right?"  She agreed that there were parallels.  A life coach appears to help one analyze his life, experiences, hopes, plans and dreams in order to devise a plan to determine, devise and eventually reach his goals.

Did you have someone in your life to coach you as a young adult?  Unfortunately, I didn't but, in retrospect, I could have benefited from that type of support and coaching. That's one of my goals now, to coach my kids.  To help them make a plan and devise benchmarks in order to reach their goals and dreams.

They don't need me to tell them what to do, but I want to be available to be a coach if that's what it takes to assist them along the path to adulthood.

Off Visiting

(Looks just like me, doesn't it?)

Today I'm guest posting at Since You Asked.  Dawn has been running a series called, "In Celebration of Mothers" and I had the chance to share a little bit about motherhood.

Here's how it starts ...

First you are the vessel or the mother ship as I’ve heard it called.  This tiny, developing person depends on you and you alone for his very life.  Soon, you deliver your child and he still needs you, but with the help of others, could survive without you. 

Click on over to Since You Asked to read the rest.

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You still have a chance to win a copy of Kate Megill's new e-book, Cut It Out!

Want to find out how?  Just click here

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ROTFLMBO (Do I Have That Right?)

I'm normally a rather serious person, I think. But underneath my mature and responsible veneer I am something of an idiot. Well maybe idiot isn't the right word, but I can't think of what is the right word.  What I'm am trying to explain in this inarticulate and confused fashion is that I like to find things to laugh about.

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For years I've found myself wanting to laugh at the most inopportune times, like in church during a sermon, when confronting an angry person, or at funerals.  Some strange trigger is flipped in my head and inappropriate and amusing (amusing to me anyway) ideas flash into my mind.

When watching movies, I'd far rather watch comedy than drama.  Same thing with blogs.  I am moved to tears by spiritually meaningful blog posts. My brain is stimulated by thought-provoking blog discussions on the human condition.  My creativity is awakened by Pinterest and knitting and crafting blogs.  But my true love is humor blogs.

And my most favorite humor blogs?  Those that take the crazy happenings of a normal day and find the humor in them.

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When I was a kid Erma Bombeck, who I view as one of the great humor writers of the 20th century, wrote a syndicated column featured in our local paper.  Now, I was just a kid and she wrote about being a wife and mother, foreign territory to me.  But even then, I knew funny when I read it and eagerly flipped to her column which was always good for a laugh.

Humor is an amazing tool.  It is good for

• chasing away dark and angry thoughts
• dispelling depression and gloom
• banishing worries
• occupying a brain that is dwelling over and over again on a problem.

In celebration of humor I'd like to share a few of my favorite funny blogs.

Experienced Bad Mom shares what life is like as a mother of two who just keeps getting it wrong.  MOV (mothersofbrothersblog) is another mom blog, but with a slightly more twisted view.  Her inspiration, Muse (or should that be her alter ego Muse?), is also entertaining in a kind of too hot to handle scary fashion.  My most recent find is Chatty Crone.  I'm new in her neighborhood, but she already has me laughing.  Her all-over-the-place blog makes me chuckle, or at least smile, every time.

If you need a laugh, or just love to laugh because it makes you happy, visit one of these entertaining women.  And please share some of your favorite humor blogs with me too.

Experienced Bad Mom

What or who is an Experienced Bad Mom?  You'll find out when you read my guest post today at Experienced Bad Mom.

A Look Inside My World

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Want to read about the real Transitional-Woman?  Click on over to Experienced Bad Mom tomorrow as I share what it's like to be a "mature" Experienced Bad Mom.