Invitations are just what they sound like! They involve choice. You are invited but not required to…come out to breakfast, attend a family dinner, consider listening to an important podcast, talk about personal things, or join me on a morning walk.

Today, I thought I would share five of my favorite books on conscious parenting!

Ideally, parents would ask questions with the intention of exploring and getting to know our children. But don’t we already know our children? I mean, we do spend hours and hours a day together! Our children may feel like a known to us but in reality, they exist apart from us. They have their own minds, experiences, reflections, fears, and preferences. They are not our own.

This past week, Clara turned eighteen! I remember how when our children were small we would find ways to celebrate birthdays all day long! From meals to activities to reading favorite books to watching home movies to baking, we had endless options to choose from— that allowed us to fill the entire day with magic and joy.

As a parent, some of our most challenging times come when we lose ourselves in our own stress, anger or pain— and hurt our children.

“Bidding” is a term that relationship expert, John Gottman uses to explain a reaching out to another person for emotional connection. It can be as simple as noticing a bird outside the window and mentioning it to your partner.

As parents, we are the container that shows up to hold it all. Whatever the emotion or mood may be.

As a follow up to my last post, I thought it would be empowering to look at the five winning strategies mentioned in Terrence Real's book, The New Rules of Marriage.

I read a book recently called The New Rules of Marriage by Terrence Real. Terrence Real is a family therapist and the author of various books on relationships.

“It’s no surprise we fail to tune into our children’s essence. How can we listen to them, when so many of us barely listen to ourselves? How can we feel their spirit and hear the beat of their heart if we can’t do this in our own life?” Shefali Tsabary

A couple of years ago, I read the book, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. It is written by John Gottman, who is one of the nation's leading researchers on the subject of marriage.