Tuesday, September 12, 2006

A Balancing Act...

the balanced mom - raising your kids without losing your self, by bria simpson, MA - ISBN # 1-57224-453-4 (capitalization taken directly from the cover - as much as that BUGS the living day lights out of me not to type with correct grammar! I can only wonder if bria simpson, MA thinks that Momma's the world over might not have ever passed an English course? None-the-less, title withstanding, I will still HIGHLY recommend this book).

I think that maybe every woman should read this book at least 1X, if not have it on your very own bookshelf! Ummm - I often "order" books through my library and then if I love, love, love it - I will buy my own copy! I paid US$14.95.

Why? Again, another "parenting" book, but truly a book for any care-giver - and that would include those of you with aging parents - or very busy person caught up in the wild spinning of the world!

What do I like about this book? Well, for one thing - the main points are in a bigger font. Ouch. But, yes - I did just say that!!! I can "skim" But you know, some days, skimming is all the time I have and having the main points JUMP out at me - it is a help! Afterall, I am a busy Mom. I even keep my face wash in the shower just to be sure that I wash my face while showering - who has time to wash their face seperately at the sink these days, especially with a 3 year old clamoring for attention??? Ah well, fortunately, I still have a little time in my life so I am not tempted to keep the toothbrush in the shower!- grin!) And, some of those main points do help me through-out my day, so it is nice that I don't have to search for them.

"A perfect parent is a person with excellent child-rearing theories and no actual children" - by Dave Berry - taken from Bria Simpson's blog linked through Amazon.com. From making time for your life and values (chapters 1&2), ditch mommy perfection (chapter 5), bring on the fun! (chapter 26), money matters (chapter 28), simplify the holidays (chapter 32), avoiding overindulging (chapter 39) all the way through to from child-centered to family centered (chapter 44), plus all the other chapters in between which I won't list out in detail - this book covers alot of ground. Every single chapter is broken down into main points with bigger fonts.

As Jeanne over at Spiral says... "I am wife, a mother, a daughter, a quiltmaker..." and, I am my own SELF! I don't feel that being a Momma is ALL about the child. And, I don't feel that this is a selfish thought. I need to be able to teach my son that the world does NOT revolve around him, as much as he would like it to. I need to teach him patience, to respect others, to listen, and oh, so much more. These are lessons that will serve him well through-out his life and in future relationships. Don't get me wrong, my life sort-ov does revolve around him, but there are many other things that are combined into that mixture and he needs to learn that, know that and respect that.

This book just helps me to remember all of this - remember to take time for ME, for US (as a couple) and FAMILY. It is a great, great, great book and I can't say enough good things about it!

3 comments:

Jeanne said...

*sigh*
It can be quite a challenge to be all those things AND be onself too!
Jeanne :)

Cher said...

oh, I am so enjoying these recommendations! wish these books had been available back in my young parenting days...before computers!

Saska said...

Where were you when my children were THREE?!