Thank you for receiving my flaws with open arms yesterday. Because, yes, I'm human. Just like you. And yes, sometimes I'm too serious. Sometimes I get all bound up in the minutia of this-very-minute and suck the joy out of our entire day.

And you saw me and you accepted me with my flaws. For that I am so grateful.

It all leads so perfectly into Step 7 today. Play. Are you ready? I am.

I want to start by reminding you to revisit step 1 in this journey every day.

It is the foundation that the other steps are built upon, and without it the rest of these steps will fall apart. Put on your oxygen mask first, if you will. Take care of you to make space to take care of the rest of your crew.

It is also worth stating this: you will never get there. That may be discouraging, but it isn't meant to be. It's meant to free you for the expectation to "arrive". To get it right every day, every time.

As I shared yesterday, it will never be perfect. It will never be "done".

You will never be perfect and neither will they.

Every moment of every day will not be seamless. There will be tears. There will be shouting. (Ahem.) There will be tantrums. There will be those hell-in-a-hand-basket parenting moments where we reflect with disbelief that we really actually said that or did that.

We are flawed. And we always will be. And now you know. (But I suspect you already did.)

That being said, perfect is not the destination. Joy is the destination.

Joy. Fun. Laughter. Play.

Together.

See how much you can enjoy this journey. Because that's really the point. Because once we get there it's over.

So with that, today I am simply reminding you to be playful. To put aside your to-do list sometimes and roll around in the leaves with your kids. To crank the Beastie Boys and have a dance party in your kitchen with your family. To stick a slice of pepperoni to your cheek and pretend you don't know why your kids are laughing/grossing out.

That kind of business. You have your own style, so run with it.

With that in mind, I'm out of here. We're leaving the laundry on the couch (half-folded) and going letterboxing in the rain. Because, why not? Today is all we've got.

Love,
Rachel

P.S. Here is are the other steps in the series, in case you missed one.

More Peaceful Parenting Step 1. Forgive, Accept, and Love Yourself.

More Peaceful Parenting Step 2. Identify the Need.

More Peaceful Parenting Step 3. Validate.

More Peaceful Parenting Step 4. Creating a Yes Environment.

More Peaceful Parenting Step 5. Your Mission Statement.

More Peaceful parenting Step 6. Just Listen.