I often wish for a more peaceful relationship with my son and, until now, that meant wanting him to be different.

My son and I have a very close yet sometimes intense relationship.  We are quick to argue and resist each other.   My son is my built-in authenticator - if I say something that is not true or authentic for me, he calls me on it.  He exposes any faulty thinking or inconsistent values and calls me to have the highest integrity possible …

My son and his initial needs led me to attachment parenting, homeopathy, different forms of bodywork, energy medicine in general, emotional freedom techniques, family constellations, birth process work, and more.  Most of what I’ve learned in the past 10 years has been somehow prompted by my son.

My son won’t go with the flow.  Being who he is lead me to consider homeschooling.  Being my son’s mother, I have had to shatter pre-conceived notions about almost everything I know about parenting and raising children. 

As an Aries and a first born, I’m a pretty strong person — I can see now that only a child with the same strength could challenge me effectively …

So as I reflect on our relationship, I am filled with gratitude and awe and respect for how he is.  I no longer wish he were different.  And I didn’t even realize it until the words for this post started to flow ….