The gift of a family is a wonderous thing. Of course, if that family is more dysfunctional than The Simpsons, it might be at first a trying and then wonderful thing. :-)

So many times, our actions are dictated by our familys. We might be driven by the need to :

• Earn a paycheck to pay for necessities

• Take care of relatives and parents

• Raise children to be self-reliant, caring, compasionate, dynamic adults

• Proactively fend off dangers that might arise months from now

Taking care of a family should never be something that's undertaken lightly. It can be an awesome responsibility.

I firmly believe that no parent wakes up one morning and declares, my, what a lovely day, I think I'll mess up my kids. Now, granted, a lack of good parenting skills might result in one screwed-up kid...but for the most part, parents do the best they know how. If you're that screwed-up kid, though, now adult, it can be tough to discard the baggage of the past, forgive your parents for being human, and move on.

Tough, but not impossible.

Kids are ball of wax entirely. When my first child was born, my mom gave me the ultimate of mother's predictions - "may you have a child who is exactly like you were." And by gosh, I did. :-) Parenting, like all of life's precious gifts, is a hero's jouney, and make no mistake about that.

I am very lucky. I have been blessed by having the most fantastic parents on the face of this planet. And now in my 30s, I can safely say, if I raise my kids half as well as they raised me, I'll be superParent.

Other techniques you'll learn within the Inner Personal Edge are ways to simply let go and move forward. You cannot get the edge in life if you're continuously being dulled by resentment of the past.

Continue to enjoy your visit!

[ Return to top ]