Motherhood – Page 2 – The Dolly Mama

24/1 – The Art of Taking a Sabbath

Posted on September 5, 2020September 5, 2020 by Esther Goetz

“With fear strangling me from the inside out, a soft gentle brave Voice kept wooing me to something different, something scary, yet something satiating and life-giving.”

Thank you, Becky Beresford, Author, for publishing my story.

I only have 9 more hours until my 24/1. Can’t wait.

Find out more by clicking HERE.

#bravewomen

Childhood, Faith, Family, Motherhood

Roots and Wings

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Esther Goetz

“I miss you, Mom.” If I see this, or hear this, I am a puddle.

I know. I know. It might mean, “I miss your meals. I miss you folding my clothes.”

What I secretly hope is that it means they miss my good mom love for them. There’s nothing like a mom’s love, right?

But what does that even mean?

Protecting them? Feeding them (way too many meals a day in my opinion)? Keeping them safe?

Granting them freedom? Freaking out inside when they hop behind the wheel of a car? Letting them make mistakes?

This mom gig is hard.

It’s a very tricky tight rope to walk. It’s more nuanced than some quick A+B=C equation. Beyond COMPLICATED!

If I protect them at all costs, I might suffocate and smother them, not allowing them to become themselves. NOT GOOD.

If I grant them unlimited freedom, they might feel uncared for and unsafe, and very unloved. ALSO NOT GOOD.

So what’s a mom to do? How do I best love them?

Maybe I don’t have to choose either or. Total SAFETY or total FREEDOM.

And maybe it’s A LOT about how I make them feel inside.

Maybe it’s about them knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt they belong to me, no matter what they do. They are grounded, or rooted, in that place, whether they are 10 feet from me in their childhood bedroom or they are 1,000 miles away in their new apartment.

AND maybe, just maybe, it’s about them also knowing they’ve got what it takes to sprout internal wings, and I’ve given them complete freedom to become all that they were designed to be (as messy as that process is).

It doesn’t seem to matter if they are 2 or 22.

It takes lots of mom time and energy (and a lot of asking God) to make all these decisions with wisdom, not to smother, but to give proper roots, AND to know when and how and why to lovingly “kick them out of the nest” to soar to heights way beyond my mom imagination.

#rootsandwings #heldandfree

Celebration, Childhood, Family, Grandparenthood, Motherhood

KINDNESS shows up in a firetruck

Posted on August 20, 2020August 20, 2020 by Esther Goetz

KINDNESS shows up in a firetruck.

Lights flash. Roto-Ray spins.

KINDNESS squeezes red engine into cozy firehouse space.

Obsessed toddler waits, wonders.

KINDNESS steps out of large hook and ladder.

Puddle-jumping little boy watches his every move.

“Where you been lately, my little friend?” KINDNESS asks.

Normally chatty two-year-old falls reverently silent..

KINDNESS speaks words that change the world. “Want to take a ride?”

Blue eyes sparkle, pint-size feet race, Mommy scoops, seatbelts clasp.

KINDNESS turns key and motor roars to life.

Lights flash again. Sirens scream. Tot revels. Mema savors.

Driven by KINDNESS, “Big Red” circles block, little tyke stunned.

Papa waves, beholding rescue vehicle-infatuated grandson’s enraptured face.

KINDNESS does what KINDNESS does best: makes a little someone’s world better by ONE simple act.

Loose-lipped toddler scampers home to tell Daddy all about it.

KINDNESS shows up in a firetruck.

Childhood, Family, Guest, Motherhood

Cognitive Dissonance and the Upcoming School Year

Posted on July 31, 2020July 30, 2020 by Esther Goetz

I was off to the races yesterday morning.

My teacher/daughter and I were chatting about the upcoming school year and ALL. THE. THINGS. surrounding it.

I had a million ideas and shared them a little too eagerly.

Here’s what you should do!

Look at this idea I found on Pinterest!

Ya-da ya-da ya-da.

“Whoa, Mom,” she gracefully, yet boldly stopped me. “I can’t do this right now. I have to take one step at a time. I need to WAIT for my district before I dive in.”

You know what I did?!?

Not my normal, “but I think you should…”

I stopped. Just like she asked me to.

Yes, often I am the teacher, the wise one, the mom giving counsel.

But motherhood is a two-way street. I am ALSO often the learner, the ignorant one, the mom receiving guidance.

We got off the phone, me feeling beyond grateful that I have a daughter who is really coming into HER OWN VOICE and here is what she wrote only an hour later.

WISDOM beyond WISDOM.

Yup. It was good for me to zip my lip and open my ears.

Education is under fire right now. It’s the next big thing under scrutiny during this pandemic. School districts, administration, and educators are under a microscope as the world cries out, “What do we do next?”

As a teacher wrestling with this very question, here’s the truth: No one knows! There is no right answer.

At the same time, there are lots of other true things:

Kids are falling academically behind

Parents need to go back to work

COVID cases are rising in many states

There are high risk teachers, students and family members

Children’s mental and emotional health is important

All of these truths exist in exactly the same space.

The questions we must ask ourselves are:

Can we sit there with them?

Can we sit there as one truth butts up against another, rubs it the wrong way or opposes it completely?

Can we sit there with truths swirling around without letting go of others?”

That is HARD.

And when things get hard we want answers.

We want certainty.

We want someone to blame when things go wrong.

Instead, can we acknowledge that when things are hard, mistakes are most likely going to get made not because we are bad but because we are HUMAN?

Brene Brown (my famous life coach and secret BFF) speaks to this phenomenon of cognitive dissonance. In her words, cognitive dissonance is “the psychologically painful process of trying to hold two competing truths in a mind that was engineered to constantly reduce conflict and minimize dissension.”

In a nutshell, holding opposing truths is real soul work. It is hard but worth it.

In the sacred space of my classroom, I teach my students that mistakes make them HUMAN, not bad. Together we engage in the truly and completely vulnerable act of learning. I want them to extend grace to themselves and to others as we find that perfection does not exist, but love does.

As teachers, as parents and just simply as people, may we have the wisdom and willingness to get uncomfortable sitting with multiple truths at the same time. May we model for our students and our children, not how to make perfect decisions but how to make them in love.

So what are you, your family, your school, your district going to do this fall? Let’s aim for love, not perfection.

Anxiety, Faith, Family, Friendship, Motherhood

Finding PEACE when we are FRAUGHT

Posted on July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 by Esther Goetz

FRAUGHT. Adj. (of a situation or course of action) filled with or likely to result in (something undesirable).

THIS IS OUR LIFE right now. NO clear answers, much less any that we like.

Should I send my kids to school in person, online or homeschool?

How should I respond if someone puts their hand out to shake mine?

How can I safely see my aging parents? Should I quarantine? For how long? What does that even mean?

What do I do at work when someone comes in without a mask on?

When should I plan that dentist visit?

How do I respond with my friends, online, on the news, with my family when other people are not making the same choices as me?

Should I have friends over? Inside? Where will they go to the bathroom?

Is it okay to serve at the soup kitchen? How close will I have to get to the other volunteers?

FRAUGHT.

YUP. We are FRAUGHT.

Whatever decision we make is likely to result in something undesirable.

So what are we to do to have PEACE in the middle of it all?

____________________________________

DISCLAIMER: I’m on the same struggle bus sitting 6 feet away from you with my mask on. We are here kind of socially-distanced together, high-fiving and cheering each other along on this bumpy, twisty ride.

____________________________________

Okay. Back to our regularly-scheduled programming.

I had one of these FRAUGHT-FILLED decisions just this weekend. I was officiating a small wedding and I suddenly remembered I was going to have to talk to people. The bride. The groom. The wedding coordinator. The parents. The little cute kids wandering around. I’d always done it with ease and now it was complicated. FRAUGHT!

Will they think I am rude? Should I stand six-feet away from them? What if someone is immunocompromised and I have no clue? What if they want me close to them?

I would love to tell you that I knew exactly what to do and how to do it and that I was super confident in my decisions ahead of time. HAHAHA. NOPE!

I reverted to all those things I normally do.

I asked my husband what to do.

I wrung my hands.

I called an officiant friend for his advice.

I freaked out a little inside.

But then, I had to get out of the car. I had to make my decisions. The wedding was upon me.

I put on my big girl pants (I mean dress in this case) and I did what I knew to be my own best practices.

JUST DO THE VERY NEXT THING. I am not in any kind of position to plan ahead because my world is changing at break-neck speed. Don’t add anything extra to my plate right now. Add my best version of LOVE into the mixture and trust it will be really okay in the end.

DIG DEEPER TO FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON BENEATH THE SURFACE. Is it fear? Is it bad boundaries? Is it people-pleasing? Is it comparison? Maybe it’s something good. Faith? Good boundaries? Being true to myself? Take a minute to listen.

WATCH HOW MY BODY RESPONDS TO EACH OPTION. Do I tense up or do I sigh with at least some measure of relief? Check myself again and again until I sense which direction my body is sending me.

SINK DOWN INSIDE OF MYSELF WHERE GOD DWELLS. He is filled wisdom and love, goodness and life, healing and hope and SO AM I. Trust my God-filled gut.

GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO CHANGE MY MIND. The decisions I make do not have power over me. I have power over them. There is not one right one choice and everything will go to “hell in a hand-basket” if I make the wrong one. Change is often a good thing. It means I am learning and growing.

Yes. I am FRAUGHT. I certainly was this weekend and will be again for the foreseeable future. So are you. We all are. It’s a perfect word for the times we are living in. NO GOOD OPTIONS.

But good options are not the dictator of whether we have PEACE. Peace comes from within, not from without. Nothing has the right to steal it away from us. NO ONE. NO THING.

We need PEACE so very desperately because it’s our GUIDE, our HOPE and FRIEND.

And it’s ours for the taking because, after all, the very Source of PEACE is with us and for us and around us and IN US.

IN US.

So struggle-bus companions, let’s keep asking for and giving ourselves the gift of peace. The unexplainable, undeniable PEACE that is rightfully ours, if I may say so myself.

Childhood, Faith, Family, Motherhood

Saved?!?!

Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 by Esther Goetz

Wait!!! What?!?!

Me? Not my kids’ savior?

But I’m a mom and I want to be. So very much.

I like saving them.

From pain.
From loss.
From danger.
From rejection.
From struggle.
From failure.
From judgment.
From conflict.
From bad choices.
From all that’s wrong with the world.

It feels really good.

For the moment.

But I know it’s not good.

For their hearts.

Because when I am their savior,

I am also “saving” them…

From growing.
From confidence.
From adventure.
From learning.
From independence.
From success.
From connection.
From responsibility.
From good choices.
From all that’s right with the world.

Doesn’t sound like much saving in the end.

Then what’s the point of this motherhood gig?
If it’s not for saving?

Hang on a minute.

Wait for it.
Wait for it.

What’s that still small voice whispering inside?
What’s that “aha moment” I can’t deny?

Has motherhood saved me?
Has it?

By…

bringing me JOY that I’ve never known before
revealing PATIENCE as I stumble along in the unknown
breathing HOPE when I need it the most
reminding me of BEAUTY in the ordinary moments
granting KINDNESS when I can’t find any in myself
allowing me to experience unconditional LOVE
opening my heart to see the tenderness of good good GOD

The question persists, but the answer comes.

PERHAPS IT HAS.
PERHAPS IT REALLY HAS.

Faith, Family, Motherhood, Thanks

It’s 1 am (Hope for Motherhood)

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Esther Goetz

It’s 1 am.
My five-month old cries out from her crib.
Not another night of this!
It’s been three weeks since I’ve had more than 3 hours of sleep in a row.
God, HELP me! HELP them!
I am barely functioning anymore, bags under my eyes the size of grapes!
I don’t think I can take it anymore!
I am SO done!

It’s 1 am.
My kindergartener screams from his room.
Why does this keep happening?
The nightmares are getting worse!
God, HELP me! HELP them!
Am I doing something wrong?
I don’t have any idea what to do!
I am SO done!

It’s 1 am.
My 10-year old shouts “MOMMY!” at the top of his lungs.
His jammy bottoms are soaked.
He’s wet the bed again.
God, HELP me! HELP them!
I’ve already called the doctor five times.
Nothing is working!
I am SO done!

It’s 1 am.
I haven’t heard from my new driver’s license holder since 7 pm.
Her curfew is 11 pm. She knows better than this!
Is she hurt? Is she drunk? Is she alive?
God, HELP me! HELP them!
I never knew this mom gig would be SO hard!
Will I ever get sleep? Will I ever stop worrying?
I am SO done!

It’s 1 am.
My cell phone vibrates on the nightstand. I ignore it.
It’s vibrates again and again. I finally pick it up. Hello?
The campus security guard is on the other end. My daughter was found passed out on the sidewalk, having had WAY too much to drink.
God, HELP me! HELP them!
This is un(freaking)believable! She will be the death of me!
What in the world am I supposed to do now?
I am SO done!

It’s 1 am.
My eyes refuse to close in sleep.
My son has been furloughed from his job.
This pandemic is wrecking everything. He was doing so well and now this!!!
God, HELP me! HELP them!
What is going to happen?
Even if he gets his sales back, will any business have the money to buy advertising? UGH!
I am SO done!

It’s 1 am.
I lay awake on my bed.
I can’t believe the text I got from my son this afternoon.
I burst into tears as I read it, gratitude bubbling up and leaking out!
GOD, you’ve HELPED me! You’ve HELPED them!
It keeps happening! Every single time!
You love him even more than I do! You are our great and only HOPE!
I am SO UNDONE!

Anxiety, Faith, Family, Grief, Health, Marriage, Motherhood

Which Voice Am I Listening To?

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Esther Goetz

WHICH VOICE AM I LISTENING TO?

Inner Critic: “You cannot stay on a workout regimen save your life.”

Inner Cheerleader: “Start with 15 minutes again tomorrow. You’ve done it before . You can do it again. ”

Inner Critic: “Your friends are probably so angry with you because you are not checking in with them as much as you used to. It’s your fault if they don’t stick around.”

Inner Cheerleader: “You have had to narrow down how much you are pouring out into people for your own well-being. You’ve done that so that you can be a better friend.”

Inner Critic: “You should NOT spend so much at the grocery store. You need to stick to a list.”

Inner Cheerleader: “It costs just a bit more to eat healthy, which has been a goal for you and your family. Keep up the good work!”

Inner Critic: “I can’t believe you are so racist?”

Inner Cheerleader: “You are learning to listen to those who are not like you. You will grow and change. You always have.”

Inner Critic: “Why do you tell people you have a good marriage? You just had another fight with your husband.”

Inner Cheerleader: “Look how far you have come from the early days. You’ve seen how sometimes conflict brings closeness. You have helped so many other couples because you can admit you struggle too.”

Inner Critic: “You will never get to those boxes in the basement that need to be organized.”

Inner Cheerleader: “You have been sorting through many things in your life, not all of them visible to the outside world. You will get to it when you are ready.”

Inner Critic: “You know that cookie you ate? You blew it again.”

Inner Cheerleader: “You know that cookie you ate? Good for you for showing yourself it’s not about perfection, but about grace.”

Inner Critic: “You didn’t set good boundaries again with your kids. When will you get this right?”

Inner Cheerleader: “Being a mom is a hard job, no matter how old your kids are. Boundaries are tricky and complicated and you are really doing what you think is right in each different situation. Also, you are really good at saying you are sorry when you blow it.”

Inner Critic: “Why do you even bother to give advice? To share your heart? To try to make a difference?”

Inner Cheerleader: “You don’t do it because you have it all together. You do it because you are broken too and it’s in this broken place that we all heal each other.”

WHICH VOICE HEAPS SHAME AND DESTROYS?
WHICH VOICE WHISPERS GRACE AND BRINGS HEALING?

WHICH VOICE AM I LISTENING TO?

Celebration, Childhood, Family, Grandparenthood, Motherhood, Thanks

I Can’t Believe This is My Life

Posted on June 16, 2020June 16, 2020 by Esther Goetz

Baby showers. Hospital rooms. 24-hour deliveries. No sleep. Leaky nursing bra. Baby giggles. Blurry mind. Toothless smiles. Crawling under the crib in the middle of the night for the pacifier. Yellow poop up the back.