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"One reason I began to ease up on the demands I placed on my son was not only because of how stressful it was as a kid when so many demands were placed on me, but because when I examined the voice I was using to dish out all those demands, it wasn’t entirely my voice.

It was my father’s voice, my aunt’s voice, my stepmothers’ voices—all the conditioning I had absorbed that tried to convince me what was necessary to have a life that was normal, proper, successful and safe from judgment.

But when I listened to my own voice, all I wanted was to understand what was important to my son, to connect with him as he is, and guide him through grace, love, acceptance and flexibility.

And to then extend this compassion to myself and to that younger version of myself who never had the opportunity to be heard or understood or accepted for who she truly was.

-JLK

(A piece from my book, Once Upon an Upset, an illustrated collection of stories, insights and reflections to help parent our children while reparenting ourselves.)" #parenting #reparenting