As the lady decided to ride my bumper today because I was not going 40 mph through the school zone, I gave her funny looks in the mirror as I verbally reminded her that we were in a school zone as if he could hear me.

Years ago, I could have been her.  I wanted to be in the fast lane…And I probably was about to loose my mind!   It was all about me!  What I noticed over the last few years was I enjoyed the school zone (as long as I was not in a rare frantic late state). Seriously, mandatory driving in the school zone at 20 mph made me slow down and look around me.  It made me feel different than those moments of panicky or zoned out driving.  It was strangely calm.   It was my introduction to moving meditation.

Years later when I began to meditate, the school zone was my analogy to Thich Nhat Hanh’s walking meditation.  It teaches you to find peace and joy in each step of life.  Where do we need to be in such a hurry?  It teaches you to slow down.

I always say that I love gentle reminders.  Diving through one or two school zones each day are my gentle reminders to be in the moment, notice my surroundings, and chillax! Namaste

As I look back over the years and analyze how I am with my third son at 4 years old versus my first two at that age, I sometimes wish I could have been the mom I am now for the older two at 4 years old. I try not to beat myself up over it.  I remind myself with each kid different milestones were occurring and siblings were being born.  I was a newbie to the mom thing when the first one turned 4.  Nearly a decade of parenting has seasoned me to become more laid back, less helicopter, and possibly less nagging.

I credit the books I have read, lectures I have attended, and shows I have watched.  Some of the nuggets I keep replaying are:  (I can not remember who to credit these to)

1.  Some of the the biggest battles we have with our kids are over 3-5 minutes of time.  They just want to read one more book with you.  Just do it!

2.  Have an 80/20% rule for your kids.  Make them do something 80% of the time and you just do it 20% of the time.

3.  You need to let them stumble in order to succeed.  We should all learn from our mistakes.

So I like the parent I am NOW even though I know bigger battles are to come.  I hope I continue to become seasoned and molded in order to deal with the challenges that will present.  I also hope and pray that the parent I was for each child during each milestone was the parent they needed.  And as much as I wish it were different, I pray it was the way God intended it to be.