Momful Mindfulness

It was my daughter’s birthday recently and she decided to celebrate at a trampoline park.  This would be a first for all of us and I couldn’t help but wonder what the outcome might be.  With kiddos this usually means one of two extremes:  AWESOME!!  Or  AAAAHHHHHH!!

There’s usually no in between with a new place.  Food can have a similar reaction, but for sure the environment involves a full-body reaction of either joy or frustration with the unfamiliar.  I held my breath, crossed my fingers, and closed my eyes in anticipation (obviously not while driving, but there was definitely some finger tapping as we made our way to the door).

Three things stood out during our experience, behavior, motivation, and self-esteem.  As I was analyzing the new space and my children’s reaction over the course of two hours, these three factors kept showing up.  I soon found myself joining in on the fun and experiencing mindfulness in the form of fun!

As soon as we entered the trampoline park, both of my children’s faces lit up.  They were ready to jump!  The atmosphere was palpable.  Music was playing, bright colors and lights, smiling faces greeted us at the door, gave us the layout, and rolled out of the rules.  We were well taken care of and because of the organization of the process, my children were at ease and because they were at ease, I was at ease.  That made for a peaceful event!

We had invited my Daughter’s friends to play as well and everyone had the same smile, same bright eyes.  My children were also unusually polite, which caused me to pause a beat and analyze why.  I felt because they were so happy about where they were (trampoline park), why they were there (birthday party!), and that the atmosphere matched our celebration intention, the manners seemed to organically jump out to join the party!

The fun environment, friendly people, and happy children kept my motivation up throughout the event.  I was motivated to find fun ways to relax in the trampoline park.  This motivation turned into mindfulness as I noticed myself wanting to hold on to certain moments: the way my Son or Daughter looked at me, the way they grabbed my hand to pull me somewhere, how their faces lit up when they smiled…their happiness motivated me to find moments of mindfulness.

Motivation for me means that energetic feeling one gets when there’s a reason for doing something.  The goal of the evening was a happy party for my Birthday Girl but like every event, there was also the drive to find mindful moments with both my Son and Daughter.  I use that motivation energy to uncover situations where mindfulness can be cultivated, turning mindful moments into lasting memories.

Children’s self-esteem can be consistently reinforced through the parents.  I look to reaffirm their positive traits as often as reasonable and especially when something stands out or they’ve worked hard on something.  For example, my Son was repeatedly trying to make a basketball into its basket while jumping on a trampoline.  He was working hard and growing slightly frustrated.  I turned it into a game where we took turns.  I would try (not too hard) to make the basket and when I missed I would make a funny noise or face or whatever I could to make my miss a funny, not angry experience.  He soon followed my reaction cue and I saw his self-esteem recover.  

This system of replicating the child’s situation to model a softer self-response has shown positive self-esteem development progress in both my children.  When my Son made a basket, he turned and looked at me with such pride and accomplishment that I couldn’t help but hold back the tears of joy.  My Son did it, he passed through his doubt, kept working towards his goal, and made the basket!  

My daughter did not need this behavior modeling system for her birthday party.  She was beaming from the fact that she got to choose where her party took place and so she spent most of the time running around, jumping on every trampoline she could, and randomly running by me making animal noises (which means she’s very, VERY happy in her language).  Her happiness became my happiness, which developed into several memorable moments full of mindfulness.

Thank you for sharing this day with me.  Writing is a passion of mine and this is the first time, in a very long while, I’m writing for myself.  This writing experience is a new one for me but one I’ve imagined doing throughout my life.  The newness of childhood is a precious treasure that I work to protect.  Writing about my experiences is part of that protection process so thank you again for sharing this journey with me.

Until next time, look for reasons to savor your moments.

~Namaste~