Love this, thank you! What's hard: one of my 11-year-old twin daughters has an un-understood constellation of symptoms for which nothing has helped; what's helping: her twin sister is a ray of sunshine. I see myself in each of them, and try to hold both of those things at the same time.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this, Erica. Sharing our hard and what's helping feels so connecting for me right now! Hope your daughter finds some relief soon.❤️
A lovely piece, sorry to hear about those tough moments - I admire the way you approach things, it's inspiring and uplifting and your judgement-free practices are great.
As tough as everything is (life, the news, etc) I do my best to laugh as much as possible, I try to see the funny side if I can, though it's not always easy. To be honest, there's so much uncertainty in life now and I'm trying my best to live a day at a time (forgive the old cliche). I try to focus on silver linings. And no matter how bad things appear to be, as long as my daughter is happy and healthy, that keeps me going. Thank goodness for her - speaking of which, that post from Stephanie Gilman mirrors my thinking to a T and it really is so bittersweet with the kids growing up quickly. Interestingly, no other fathers commented on that post, which is...intriguing.
Thanks for sharing all the links, I like this kind of stuff, and I hope your son had a lovely trip to Panama - that's one hell of a field trip!
Daniel, thanks for your lovely comment. Ha, Panama was a big trip! They were supposed to go to Israel, but that's not feasible right now... I think looking for the laughter is a great philosophy. I love finding funny folks here on Substack to follow. Watching kids grow up is for sure a thing to keep us going!
First of all, sending lots of love to you during some difficult things going on.
“I’m alive and healthy, my kids are thriving, and nothing and no one lasts forever.” - I’ve really been feeling this lately as well.
Who knows if heading into my last couple of years in my 40s, or having more time to think now that our kids have left home has prompted these thoughts.
I think a lot has to do with it being a new year and being aware of what I want to keep and what I want to shed. I think the February goal is so timely. Stopping the judgment that just smears unnecessary gunk.
I’m getting back into reading Substack and I’m so glad I read this piece. 💕
Thank you so much, Mika. What a reflective comment! "What to keep and what to shed". I guess we're always sloughing something off, aren't we? Life is just one big exfoliator! 🙃
Thank you for this Marika. I loved how you started this piece with "March Forth." March 4th is a very special day in our family. My father, a deeply silly man who I adored and who died of Parkinson's in 2018 used to call me first thing in the morning every March 4th and ask, "What day is this?" (The correct answer was - March Forth, The Most Progressive Day of the Year.) When he got older, his grandchildren who all lived in different cities used to get in on it by competing to be the first to call him on March 4th. (The time zone arguments over who won and when March 4th actually began were endless.) Now that he is gone, we gather as an extended family every March 4th to be silly together and to honour him. Reading that one of the things that's hard for you is your dad's decline due to Parkinson's touched me. I remember how hard that was. What helped me through it was remembering to savour our moments together.
So glad this got served up to me. I had an unexpected chunk of time waiting for my son to finish a parkour camp and chose to just fill my soul with good thoughts from Substack. Your peace was exactly what I needed!
Love this, thank you! What's hard: one of my 11-year-old twin daughters has an un-understood constellation of symptoms for which nothing has helped; what's helping: her twin sister is a ray of sunshine. I see myself in each of them, and try to hold both of those things at the same time.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this, Erica. Sharing our hard and what's helping feels so connecting for me right now! Hope your daughter finds some relief soon.❤️
A lovely piece, sorry to hear about those tough moments - I admire the way you approach things, it's inspiring and uplifting and your judgement-free practices are great.
As tough as everything is (life, the news, etc) I do my best to laugh as much as possible, I try to see the funny side if I can, though it's not always easy. To be honest, there's so much uncertainty in life now and I'm trying my best to live a day at a time (forgive the old cliche). I try to focus on silver linings. And no matter how bad things appear to be, as long as my daughter is happy and healthy, that keeps me going. Thank goodness for her - speaking of which, that post from Stephanie Gilman mirrors my thinking to a T and it really is so bittersweet with the kids growing up quickly. Interestingly, no other fathers commented on that post, which is...intriguing.
Thanks for sharing all the links, I like this kind of stuff, and I hope your son had a lovely trip to Panama - that's one hell of a field trip!
Daniel, thanks for your lovely comment. Ha, Panama was a big trip! They were supposed to go to Israel, but that's not feasible right now... I think looking for the laughter is a great philosophy. I love finding funny folks here on Substack to follow. Watching kids grow up is for sure a thing to keep us going!
First of all, sending lots of love to you during some difficult things going on.
“I’m alive and healthy, my kids are thriving, and nothing and no one lasts forever.” - I’ve really been feeling this lately as well.
Who knows if heading into my last couple of years in my 40s, or having more time to think now that our kids have left home has prompted these thoughts.
I think a lot has to do with it being a new year and being aware of what I want to keep and what I want to shed. I think the February goal is so timely. Stopping the judgment that just smears unnecessary gunk.
I’m getting back into reading Substack and I’m so glad I read this piece. 💕
Thank you so much, Mika. What a reflective comment! "What to keep and what to shed". I guess we're always sloughing something off, aren't we? Life is just one big exfoliator! 🙃
Hahaha so so true. xx 🧽
Thank you for this Marika. I loved how you started this piece with "March Forth." March 4th is a very special day in our family. My father, a deeply silly man who I adored and who died of Parkinson's in 2018 used to call me first thing in the morning every March 4th and ask, "What day is this?" (The correct answer was - March Forth, The Most Progressive Day of the Year.) When he got older, his grandchildren who all lived in different cities used to get in on it by competing to be the first to call him on March 4th. (The time zone arguments over who won and when March 4th actually began were endless.) Now that he is gone, we gather as an extended family every March 4th to be silly together and to honour him. Reading that one of the things that's hard for you is your dad's decline due to Parkinson's touched me. I remember how hard that was. What helped me through it was remembering to savour our moments together.
So glad this got served up to me. I had an unexpected chunk of time waiting for my son to finish a parkour camp and chose to just fill my soul with good thoughts from Substack. Your peace was exactly what I needed!
Thank you for the shout-out, Marika! I feel honored. Your work has truly inspired me recently.