Parenting young children can be a lot like one of my favorite movies, Ground Hog Day. I haven’t seen it in awhile and I think I’ll find it on Netflix and watch it again.  It’s one of those movies that makes me laugh and just feel good by the end.

Fortunately, I have the joy and honor to connect one-on-one with other moms through coaching to keep my days interesting and inspirational, unlike Bill Murray’s character.

I know that for you, life right now may be a series of disturbed nightly rest, early mornings, daily tasks of getting yourself ready and one or more children, setting up the play dough or the paints, cleaning it up, making snack, bundling to go outside, coming inside, diaper changes or potty breaks or accidents, wiping faces and bottoms and noses, putting shoes on and taking them off, washing dishes, kids, and dogs, cooking, cleaning, carpooling…

I think we forget why we’re doing all of this. The big picture gets lost along the way.

A client and I read this virtues card this morning to help ground us in that bigger picture.  It was wonderful to read the words and I thought more moms would benefit from the card as well.  We know that the bigger picture is about nurturing our children into people of character.

I remember my birth doula told me “every push is bringing you closer to meeting your new baby.”

Maybe every new challenge is bringing you closer to your true self.

Fortitude

Fortitude is strength of
character.  It is the will to
endure no matter what
happens, with courage,
confidence, and patience.
Fortitude is deeply
rooted in the bedrock of
our will.  We cultivate it
by strengthening our
resolve to face whatever
comes.  It springs from
devotion to a purpose we
believe to be real and
important.  It grows as we
face and overcome
insurmountable obstacles.
It keeps us going.  Our
fortitude can astonish us.
~The Virtues Project

Related posts:

1. Day 5: 12 Days to Stop Yelling
2. Day Three: 12 Days to Stop Yelling
3. What Mama Needs Vs What Mama Wants
4. Part 1: Getting Wee Ones to Sleep
5. Finding That Predictable Daily Routine

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Tags: character, Children Under Age 7, community, family culture, fortitude, tantrums

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under motherhood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.