Hello 2024!! We’ve been getting to know each other for a few weeks now and I’m thrilled to say I feel the makings of a beautiful year ahead. I hope that’s true for all of you, as well. 

Like so many others, I’ve got fresh intentions, plans, dreams, and goals for the upcoming months and feel inspired to make progress on all of these things. But I must admit, this is fairly new to me; I’ve shied away from doing resolutions for many years, as the concept felt entirely too stifling.

I’ve come to understand that my definition of “resolutions” didn’t honor all of my experiences, trials, and failures. It seemed to only be focused on the “new” and wistful versions of myself, which felt dismissive to my personal history.

This year, I participated in a few different programs that helped me celebrate all that I’ve done, then allowed me to build upon those successes as guideposts for my future self. As a result, this year I came to see the New Year as a time of reflection AND direction.

Just one year ago, I found a training program for what I knew was going to be my next-phase career: a Parenting Coach. I was ready to expand on my well-worn path of working with families that I had built, loved, and nurtured for many years. Parent Coaching landed in my lap and felt like home in my heart. The training gave me the tools I had been looking for to support parents as an educator. Through reflection, I realized that this training program was my life’s GPS for the year.

1.    I learned how to not fix, but support.

2.    I learned how to become more empowered in my parenting.

3.    I learned the power of silence as a parent.

4.    I learned how to soften without being too soft.

5.    I learned just how many fears were hiding inside my parenting decisions.

6.    I learned that somatic practices are worth tuning into.

7.    I learned that the nervous system is the true driver of this bus.

8.    I learned that we carry loads of generational cycles in our bodies.

9.    I learned how to notice my patterns and explore them to their deepest point, so they unravel.

10. I learned so many tools and strategies that I wished I knew years ago, like time-in.

11. I learned the value of play.

12. I learned that even as a parent of a senior in high school who holds a master’s degree in Child Development and has worked with parents and families for 25 years, I still had things to learn because I am always evolving. This work is never, and will never be, finished.

In early 2023, I had quietly (much too nervous to state publicly) set an intention of learning, doing more, and helping whomever I could along the way. I ended up with bonus lessons: gaining life-enhancing skills that improved my relationships and increased my self-awareness.

This year, as I charted out where I wanted to take this work, I pictured walking alongside loads of parents… encouraging, guiding, and celebrating you all in a variety of formats. So if connection and improved relations are on your agenda for 2024, contact me for a free discovery call. We can talk through whether working together would be a good fit or if a different resource might suit you better.

I’ll end with this poignant quote by Henry David Thoreau:

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”