Note: As we continue to update images on older articles on the site, be sure to visit Substack for the latest from Shalavee!
When I was pregnant, I was told the very fact that I cared so much about what kind of parent I’d become meant that I’d be a good parent. What takes a potential good parent and steers them to the wrong side of the road? Their own lack of self-compassion and emotional intelligence or awareness….
Today’s story is that I feel Lullful. Between zones. Like that month-long week before you give birth to your baby when nothing’s happening yet and everyone stops calling because they must think they’re going to interrupt something. But it’s me that’s not calling me. I’m not thinking too deeply about much, I’m enjoying being and…
I have a love/hate relationship with vacations. While my husband has fabulous memories of singing Kumbaya around beach campfires with numerous cousins, I have one memory of my family camping and there was yelling involved. My childhood vacations meant sleeping on uncomfortable beds at relative’s houses so the parents could get a break from parenting….
One of the biggest promises I made to myself this year, was to actively address and change any situations where I felt shame or blame in my life. One of the reasons I made this promise is because someone in my life keeps actively shaming me. There are people who you may have to deal…
I was walking through the house doing some catch up chores like spot cleaning rugs and cleaning cupboard doors and suddenly I blurted out, “I want my life back”. Because for the last almost two months, my time and efforts have been usurped by the chaos of my mother’s crumbling life. I tried in vain…
There’s not a lot of room for me right now with Mom’s temporary stay. I have accepted that. I am the caretaker. This is my current job. I remember this lack of me time from when the children were babies. But I knew I would eventually put them to bed. That isn’t the case here….
This August 2022 marked the 11th year of blogging. But I have had no urge whatsoever to tell anyone about this. Why? Because I just couldn’t see how I had achieved enough with all of these years. Because I am not a popular money-making blog. How do we measure success after all but money and…
Today is my son’s 17th birthday. I am wondering what it is that I have given him. I lightheartedly told the kids yesterday that I was attempting to raise self-reliant emotionally mature people. But this is some serious work. Parenting is like the Kobiyashi Maru, the rigged test in Star Trek’s Star Fleet Academy for…
I think I live a pretty common life. Within my daily routines, I weave enormous doses of creativity, positivity, and spontaneity. But the standards of life that are desirable are often much more glamorous. It’s easy to dismiss ourselves as not unusual in comparison to what we perceive to be ideal. But that is such…
A discussion arose between me and another member of my family about how to reward children and, perhaps, people in general. He contended that people should be rewarded for their efforts. And I stand for the idea that people should be rewarded for their character out of love. Many people are currently rotten parents to…
Archives
