The Big Ideas on Mothering from the Retreat

At the Shore this summer keeping my kids from being pulled out into the ocean while they did their thing.

 Two weeks ago I attended a great retreat for moms put on by the Power of Moms, an organization dedicated to the development of moms.  Those days were so full of great discussion and idea-sharing.  I came away with great tools to improve as a mom. These are some of the ideas that I don't want to lose hold of. 

1. Taking care of myself is a necessity, not a luxury.  In the Book of Mormon just after Nephi lays out the gospel of Christ we read that we need to "press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end".  I had never noticed that "feasting" is a self-focused thing--we have to nourish ourselves so that we have strength for the pressing forward and enduring part of the plan. 
2. Building margins into my life will help me feel more joy.  Stacking event on top of event might make me seem like I'm accomplishing something or pleasing people, but being busy makes enjoying life as a family a little more complicated.  I really want to work harder on our daily margins--presently our morning and evening routines are task-oriented--there's a lot of "hurry, hurry" rather than moments that encourage joy.
3. I  have to be deliberate and purposeful in all that I do.  If something isn't strengthening my family, I have to change it.  Or if I'm doing something just because I have this idea that "that's what moms do" or "that's what Mormons do" or "that's what today's woman does" then I have to carefully consider my motives.  
4. Our family's identity, economy, and legal system are built around habits that we form with regards to the traditions we maintain, the way we treat our resources, and the behavior we encourage, respectively.  See Number Three about on being deliberate. 
5. Saydi and Sarah led a brief discussion on photographing family moments and with all the discussion about ISO and aperture and camera types, the main point I came away with was that I have to give up the camera more so that I can be in photographs.  The photo record we leave for our children will help foster their strong feelings of attachment and foster bonding now and later, much like old journals help me feel connected to my relatives.  I want to be in on that. 
6. Meeting with moms in this structured, job-specific way was such a productive and enjoyable use of my time.  I look forward to setting up a Learning Circle of moms using the Power of Moms format.