“Just.Be.Enough… was founded in July of 2011 by Elena Sonnino. The idea for the site came to her as she was swimming laps, training for a triathlon, thinking about the importance of feeling confident and empowered.
It all started when she was reading a blog post about accepting ourselves even with our imperfections which led to a link up on her own blog C.Mom asking women to create a Things I Like About Me list. The struggle that followed for many was eye opening. The focus on imperfections and flaws had taken seed and had deep roots that were hard to change. But so many women did. And as a result, they walked taller, felt empowered, and took the Internet by storm.
Just.Be.Enough. will share the stories, the voices, the truths of many. Its mission is to empower, inspire, and remind women, parents, and children that that the time has come to celebrate ourselves. We must. We must carry the weight of confidence and empowerment on our shoulders instead of allowing the burden of our flaws and imperfections to push us down.” About Us www.justbeenough.com
Myself and eight others indescribably Just.Enough women have been overwhelmingly lucky to have the opportunity to share this adventure with Elena. Every Monday, we will all be joining Elena at www.justbeenough.com to link up and share our story of the week about how you have lived the Be Enough Me feeling this week.
This week Olivia drove me nuts.
Crying, screaming, yelling, mad, more crying… tantrums.
Olivia is five years old.
More crying, more tantrums, hitting her sister.
I usually don’t go to Twitter vent about moments like this, but I just needed to lay it all out there. Suddenly, I had two warm, responsive women asking me how old she was and happy to share with me what worked for them and their children. They kindly shared. Their empathy for my moment reminded me that I was not alone.
She made me crazy.
The girl made me crazy.
Wednesday came. The girls and I packed up the backpack with snacks and water, put the jogging stroller in the back of the car and we were on our way to our favorite path by the river for a long walk. It was a great eight mile walk with the girls in the stroller, the iPod playing our favorite tracks and me pushing them along. Two hours later (with a snack in between) and a new quarter sized blisters on my heal, I smiled as I watch them play at the park.
Today there was no whining, there was no crying, there was not a single hit, there were no, “I’m MAD at you! “ or “You’re a MEAN mommy”, there were no tantrums on the floor.
There were pleases, there were thank yous, there were smiles, there was, “Olivia can you help Mommy with this ?” and the response was, “Sure Mommy!”
This week’s experiences reminded me that I am enough. I am doing the right things with Olivia. I do know what I am doing. It reminded me that Olivia is her own person. She has her own mind and her own will. This reminded me that it is her job to grow up. It’s her job to push me away. It’s her job to test me and my limits. It is my job to make her feel safe, give her structure and give her limits. It is my job to teach her how to deal with these new things, new feelings, new situations, and new experiences.
So, with a little help from some new found friends on an unlikely source I realized that I was going to be enough. My child, like all children, has her moments. Sometimes the moment is an hour, sometimes a day and in my case sometimes it is three days, but it just means that they are growing up. So, even if it does make me want to lay on the floor, makes me want to pound my fists and makes me want to cry… I am Just.Enough!
We can not wait to hear about it!