A year ago I had the pleasure of being a presenter at the 12th Annual Conference hosted by PPAL, (Parent/Professional Advocacy League) and WOW what an experience it was. Another small business owner and I teamed up to present: Outside the box - Calming the chaos, which focused on the ways movement can help you and your child feel safe, connected and present. Close to 500 participants came together for the day to learn new ways to ACCEPT, ADVOCATE and ACT for children during this mental health crisis. It was noted during this event that 1 in 5 children are dealing with mental health issues and that it is getting harder and harder for families and professionals to provide the support they need. I am so proud of organizations like PPAL that work as hard as they do for so many - they are truly a gem!
I remember so vividly how my mind wondered as I was logging on and waiting for the day to begin, I found my mind drifting and thinking - how did I get here? How did I get from being a mom of two kiddos to being a presenter at such an important event. Lots of memories flashed through my mind of the appointments with so many specialists, the sleepless nights and the days filled with worry, the ups and downs and ins and outs of the journey of being a mom to my kiddos, the countless hours of researching and reading about new and different ways to help my kiddos, my very first kids yoga training and how I knew in my soul teaching this would be my new occupation, my primitive reflex training where so many lightbulbs went off in my mind of how I could bring this work to families, and the countless times my different perspective made a child or a family feel empowered in their next step. It's certainly been a wild ride!
The keynote speaker introduced me to a poem I had never heard before titled Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley, if you have never read it before go search for it now! It brought me to tears because it spoke to the heart and soul of why I do what I do and also to how I got here. I received a passport to Holland, and my family lives there, everyday. Both of my kiddos reside in Holland so essentially my husband and I do too. We didn't ask to be here, just as my children did not ask for their diagnoses, BUT being in Holland has taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined.
My family's passport to Holland gave me my mission in life:
To make every child and their caregiver feel empowered because kids often don’t have the language to describe what is going on internally and it’s up to us to see them, meet them where they are and guide them through,
I can help you with that!
I recognize the paragraph about Holland makes no sense without the full poem, I encourage to go find it, read it, and reflect. A year later after learning about my passport to Holland I have worked harder and harder to define my mission. I have developed new program, Parenting Take 2, designed to help parents see their child differently and learn about systems and senses that parenting classes definitely left out. This program also allows children to feel seen, heard, understood and valued through playful sessions with me filled with intentional movement and mindfulness that makes their body and mind connect. At the end, the parents receive a customized toolkit and visual menus to assist in challenging situations and times of day. This program is collaborative, connected and results driven putting you back in the driver’s seat! Interested in learning more?
Comments