Coming Home

Hello, blogosphere!  I’m
back!

I’d like to tell you that I have been away on an exotic
vacation.  To the islands, to an ashram, an
African Safari.

But in actuality, I’ve been hustling around New Jersey, as a
mild mannered administrative assistant/freelance writer/yoga teacher by day,
and budding entrepreneur by night (more on the entrepreneur thing later).  There has not been as much silence or pausing
or deep thinking as I would have liked. 
I’ve been working it, if you know what I mean.

I’ve been working it so much that I hardly missed my blog as
much as I thought I would.  No, I’m not “done”
with the blog thing.  But the time went
quickly and without much thought of “stats” or tweets or what my next post
would be about.  Hey, it’s nice to take a
vacation, but it always feels good to get back home.

A lot of things have happened since I went on my blogger’s
break.

We lost whatever was left of our collective innocence after
the Sandy Hook shooting.

My heart hurts  for all of the families in Newtown, Connecticut who
are suffering from unfathomable losses.

I have read some gut wrenching blog posts written by
friends who have articulated their thoughts about the unthinkable with
eloquence and respect. Among the posts, have been the call to action to do good in the wake of this unexplainable evil, including the 26 acts of kindness movement.  Yes,
Kiran and Christine.  Count me in.  

On a much lighter note, I went to Florida with my daughter
for cheer nationals.

2012-11-10 15.40.49
(Here she is again, with that crazy wiglet hair piece!) 

Cheer nationals was the culmination of a six-month long saga of mother/daughter
power struggles, unexpected shifts in priorities, financial anxiety, and misguided
expectations.

I am not a natural born “cheer mom.”  I am a reluctant one at best.  But I have learned a lot along the way.  But then again, like with many of those
sticky situations we face in life, our choices are (a) get the lesson or (b) go
completely freaking insane.

I have written bluntly about my experiences in my “cheer mom
trilogy,” published throughout the early fall months, with each installment,
both on paper and in life, revealing another piece of the character arc for
both me and my daughter. 

No, I never quite did go insane.  But I came close. 

But there were some “learn the hard way” lessons.  There was the learning to set boundaries as a
mother in part one, the softening of expectations of my daughter in part two,
and a new found willingness to do “whatever it takes” for my kids in part
three

Today, I revisit my cheer mom experience on Tricia’s blog at
Raising Humans, while I recount how I managed my daughter’s first real “life
disappointment.”

Tricia is another gem of a blogger that I discovered through
the SITS girls.  On her blog, Raising
Humans, she captures many of the small moments with her children honestly,
fearlessly, and eloquently. 

Naturally, these small moments that Tricia captures are much
more than small moments.  The small moments
in life are really the big moments, are they not?

I am honored to be a guest on her blog today. 

Won’t you please come join me over there

I miss you guys!

Namaste, Divas! 

Comments

Coming Home — 21 Comments

  1. Missed you!!! So glad you are back, and have been busy. I look forward to you sharing your journeys!
    Merry Christmas, Ilene-may the peace of the season be with you and yours! <3

  2. Yay that you’re over at Raising Humans. Sad for your little girl, though. She can be proud of herself, though. Also though. Because I’m overusing that word this morning.

  3. You’re story reminded me of when I started to compete in dance. My very first competition I took 4th place out of about 50 entries. I was so sure, that because of my ahhhmazing performance, this would be routine. Not the case. I learned the hard way on many occasions that I would not always come out on top. However, as I’ve grown, I’ve come to appreciate and learn from those losses. It sucks, but you move on.

  4. Thank you and I have missed being here. And thank you for your kind words on my post at Tricia’s. Today reminded me how much I love blogging. My brain has been on other things the past few weeks, but now that my feet are wet again, I can’t wait to come back. Happy holidays to you too! xxoo

  5. Welcome back. Super glad you had a break from the stats/tweets/craziness of blogging. If you are guesting now and would like to guest on the Urban Moo Cow, let me know! I’d love to have you. 🙂

  6. I think I came along right in time. Welcome back!
    Great stuff here. I love how you handled the disappointment on the car ride. We parents default to protection mode, and while that’s fine often, it’s not always the right answer.
    I remember looking into Marie’s eyes as the final whistle blew on a 1-0 championship loss one season. Our team hadn’t lost a game all season – until the most important game of the year, to a bitter rival, no less.
    I told the kids as a few cried afterward, “this hurts, and it’s supposed to hurt. But I’m proud of you, and I already can’t wait for next season.”
    I have a feeling I’m going to learn a lot on your blog in 2013.

  7. Eli, I have to tell you that was the longest car ride of my life, but as you say, it was supposed to hurt. You have a feeling you’re going to learn a lot here in 2013? I have a feeling that my inner cheer mom has a lot to learn from the coach.