And that’s what today’s blog is about – the process of looking forward. While it’s not a full-fledged planning process, it’s the leaping off point for one, which is why I call it new year planning.  Again, I encourage you to do this on your own and then share it with others who have also done it. Do your sharing out loud. This makes all the difference in the world…finding and using your voice and being witnessed (and giving the gifts of listening and bearing witness to others.)  Have fun with this!

New Year Planning – Kick Off Steps:

1.     Set an Intention. In a few words, sentences or paragraphs, summarize your intention for the year.  You might want to journal about this a little on a separate sheet of paper first. Engage all of your senses as you consider what’s most important to you right now.  Ask yourself, “What is most important to me right now, really?” or “What one thing is most important to me now?” or “What will make me feel like this year has been satisfying and/or successful by year-end?” Imagine it. See it. Taste it. Touch it. Feel it. Smell it. Hear it. And then write about it and share it.

For example, my intention for 2011 is “to successfully and assertively integrate my personal and professional lives.” In other words, I am no longer just a business owner or just a mom, I am a woman, wife and mother with a successful and growing business that I love and that lets me give of my gifts and serve the people I’m meant to serve. I will talk about motherhood at work and I will talk about work in my mom worlds. It has served me, up until now, to compartmentalize my life. I need and choose to let the two mingle more and trust myself to navigate the overlap, the boundaries, and the ebb and flow.

2.     List your top 5 goals. These are the specific objectives you intend to achieve in the coming year (these are not the dreams or wish list items, and these are not the detailed action plans and accountability agreements; this is the place to capture the high level goals that are most important to you and that align with your overarching intention.)

For example , my top 5 goals are:

a.     Change my sleep routine (in bed by midnight or, ideally, by 11:00 p.m., 6 nights/week), so I will be more rested and ready to be that woman who’s a rock solid mother and entrepreneur all at the same time!

b.     With Frank, my business partner, launch the first two courses in the World Class Parenting MAGIC Formula curriculum (the M and A).  Of course, there’s a part of me that wants to launch the WHOLE curriculum and I know that that’s a stretch and may break me/us, so this is a realistic goal – okay, maybe I’m sandbagging and that will be okay too!

c.     With Frank, agree on an approach for and launch our FREE parenting open forums. Right now, we don’t agree on the approach and agreement is one of our practices so this is a series of fierce conversations waiting to happen.  I’m committed to having them, respectfully, and honoring our relationship in the process.

d.     Actively nurture my core relationships by spending quality time by myself and with Michael and each of our boys on a daily and weekly basis.  Anything counts, like driving John Robert to his allergy shot appointments every week and using the time we have together during those visits well.  And date nights with my husband, Michael, dedicated solely to nurturing the relationship and fun are essential, ideally, at least once a week!

e.     Launch an effort to build community with other local women interested in getting together on a regular basis. Host the first of these gatherings in February.

3.     Pick a JOT (Just One Thing) and make it happen.  List one action, just one thing, aligned with the above stated intention and list of goals, that you intend to do, and will do, within the next 24 hours. JOTs are big deals. Instead of writing lengthy lists that overwhelm us, JOTs get us into motion and give us the opportunity to make it real, get stuff done, and feel like we’re making progress. When we have a sense of accomplishment, this fuels the next JOT, and the next! Be realistic and create some accountability and then celebrate when you do it!

4.     Choose one practice to focus on for the year. All of us fall into patterns and are governed by habits that run our lives; some of these serve and some don’t, some of these served at one time but don’t anymore. It is important to examine the practices, patterns, habits and assumptions of our lives.  We will be writing about this a lot so stay tuned.  For now, think about a “muscle” you’d like to build that would help you to honor the intention you stated above and then write a practice statement around it using the following sentence stem: “I practice ______________ as I _______________.”

For example, “I practice kindness, as I pause before speaking, so I can choose my response (what to say and how I want to say it, especially in situations where I am feeling reactive, highly emotional or angry), in a way that honors and preserves the relationship.”

5.     Pick one word or a mantra that you will use throughout the year to remind you of your intention, goals and practice.  For me, the phrase is: “I honor my body, my family and my potential.”

As always, if you feel moved to share with us, please do!  If you do your year-end reflections, take time to complete the new year planning process (whether you take a few minutes or a few weeks), and set up the accountability structures that work for you to revisit these and honor them regularly, you will experience more satisfaction than you ever imagined and 2011 will be your best year ever!

That’s what I wish for you – a deep sense of personal and professional satisfaction and a terrific 2011!  And that goes for all you professional parents too!

Love,

Dori

P.S. – Come visit us at www.worldclassparenting.com to find out more about how to become a professional parent leader – adults who are committed to empowerment through conscious parenting, partnering and leadership, and who are proud to make professional parenting the priority in their lives.

World Class Parenting: elevating the role of the parent; reversing the decline of the family; bringing more harmony into our homes.

I have a coaching client who, after thirty years, went back to walk across the stage to pick up his diploma (symbolically this time). He’d skipped this step in his doctoral graduation experience. For whatever reason, he’d dismissed it as unimportant, yet, somehow, over those thirty years, it took up space in his psyche, nagging at him as a regret, or as somehow incomplete.

Incompletes weigh on us because they are usually tied to agreements, or promises we made to ourselves, or others, and did not keep, or they represent the ending of an arc in one’s life that, when not acknowledged, is not allowed to actually end. Incompletes create integrity issues (integrity here has to do with the idea of feeling whole, complete or in alignment/agreement).  While my client may have “finished” his education and received his diploma and is, therefore, a finisher, there is something about the process of bearing witness to this, and allowing others to bear witness to it, that is part of the completion process.

Much like a graduation ceremony, in this process of completing, or honoring an ending, there is a combination of grieving (we’re at an ending; it’s over; it’ll never be this way again; we may never see each other again) and celebration (wow, we did it/I did it; what a ride!)  Perhaps some of us want to avoid the feelings and the idea of an ending? Perhaps some of us are simply exhausted and just want to be done? And, perhaps something really is done and we simply need to acknowledge it and take it “off the lists” in our heads and our hearts so its no longer taking up space? The reasons are always personal.

This is why I have made a year-end reflection experience, or a completion ceremony, a regular part of our family’s life, and a practice I am committed to honoring in mine.  I’ve created various tools for this over the years and have shared them with family, friends and clients. If nothing else, doing this creates another way to bring people together and have more meaningful conversations – it’s that “way in” that gets you beyond the light, cocktail party or quick, dinner conversations.

The tool we’ve been using has two parts.  The first part encourages reflection on the year that’s about to pass or that just passed (you could easily apply this to an event, a project, or some other time bounded initiative). The second part encourages planning for the new year. Both processes are simple and sharing what you create can be a lot of fun and a meaningful experience.

I will share the year-end reflection steps here and encourage you to do this both on your own and with others, ideally, out loud.  I will share the new year planning process with you in our next blog article.

Year –End Reflection Steps:

1.     List your top 5 Proudest Moments (of the past year – anything goes, however “big” or “little”)

2.     List your top 5 Accomplishments (of the past year)

3.     Write a sentence or a paragraph or two about who you had to be for these (proudest moments and accomplishments) to happen? In other words, ask yourself, “What was required of me to accomplish these things and/or invite these experiences into my life?

4.     List the top 5 things you’re grateful for (the roses – roses are the obvious, feel-good things)

5.     List the top 5 things you’re grateful for (the thorns – thorns are the less obvious, seemed-bad-at-the-time things that have gifts in them, lessons learned, a new friend or a new ah-ha moment)

As always, if you feel moved to share your reflections with us, please do!  We may even publish a few of them here in a future blog!

May your new year be filled with roses and thorns and the wisdom and patience to know them as the blessings that they are.

Love,

Dori

P.S. – Come visit us at www.worldclassparenting.com to find out more about how to become a professional parent leader – adults who are committed to empowerment through conscious parenting, partnering and leadership, and who are proud to make professional parenting the priority in their lives.

World Class Parenting: elevating the role of the parent; reversing the decline of the family; bringing more harmony into our homes.

Most parents and families have year-end traditions, associated with the holidays and this time of year, that serve them and enable them to enjoy the season.  In addition to the normal stuff of the holiday season, I have made it a practice to set aside time to accomplish three things:

1.     Reflect on the current year

2.     Pace myself, to be more present in the moment and, as a result, be better able to navigate time with (extended) family and/or circles of friends and honor them while we are together

3.     Prepare for the coming year

I have a tool that helps to achieve these things and I encourage my family, friends and clients to complete the two-page exercise as individuals and as collectives (e.g., as groups of individuals) as well. It is a healthy, contemplative practice with mindful, practical and real implications, which is why I’m so committed to it year after year.  Of course, these practices are only useful to us if, much like a new year’s resolution, we act upon, consider, and honor them in our day-to-day lives.  Well, this year, before I had a chance to breathe life into this tradition and guide my family through our collective process, our lives were turned on their heads.

On Monday, December 27, 2010, my youngest son, Patrick, 12, managed to impale himself on his closet doorknob after standing on an unstable surface to put something away on a high shelf in his closet.  To make a long story short, he damaged the anal sphincter muscle, his rectum and the deep muscle tissue in this area and required emergency bowel surgery that night.  We spent the next 2 ½ days with him in the hospital.  Thanks to the competence, compassion and commitment of a large number of medical professionals (from room technicians to charge nurses, ER doctors to recovery room nurses, pediatric surgical specialists to hospital childcare advocates, to EMT’s and ambulance transport services) associated with multiple medical facilities, we had the best, imaginable care and Patrick has a great prognosis – bottom line (pun intended) he may truly turn out as good as new!  Whew!

In addition to the relief that came with each day of progress came the joy we got to experience with the outpouring of care from friends and neighbors, family and loved ones, far and wide.  I’ve made meals for people in trouble and forced myself on people in tough situations but have never been the recipient of this kind of loving care and service.  It is a very different experience to be on the receiving end of so much kindness and compassion.  What a gift to be reminded of all the good people and goodness out there.  I, for one, am committed to paying it forward.

In my own contemplative practice, one of the elements of the current year reflection is to highlight the top five roses and the top five thorns I am grateful for, the thorns being things that happened that seemed “bad” (and probably were unfortunate) at the time, but that, in retrospect, contained many gifts in them.  Well, I count Patrick’s dance with a doorknob among the thorns of my 2010!

Of course, no mother wants to see her child in pain, hurt or injured in any way, but when it does happen, AND it does happen, it helps to surrender to the situation and, as in our case, to the professionals around you, to learn to lean on others and receive their gifts, to do what you can to continue to make self-care a priority so that you can stay strong for your self, your child/children, your spouse/significant other, family and friends, and then mine for the meaning and gifts in the experience.

By expecting the unexpected, each of us is more prepared to shift gears when called by circumstances to do so and we are more likely to know on whom to lean, when and how.

This, coupled with an attitude of gratitude, focused on both the roses and the thorns, empowered me and everyone in my midst to step up and be a better version of ourselves; and to collectively grow and heal.  It was magical to be a part of and to witness.

Today, Patrick’s movement is still restricted and he has some lingering pain, but his wounds are healing nicely and he’s as spirited and playful as ever.  He is restricted from contact sports, so no wrestling for a while, but is otherwise recovering a sense of normalcy with each passing day.  He is a bit wiser and more mature for the experience, two of the upsides of aging.  Yes, he grew up a bit this past week and now he knows, perhaps more than most, that he has an extended community of family and friends and amazingly competent and caring professionals upon whom he can always rely and for whom he will forever be grateful.  What a nice platform to stand on as he (and as all of us) welcomes in a new year.

I’m imagining that our individual and collective contemplation exercises will take on a whole new meaning thanks to the gifts of the events of this past week.  In fact, I have a great feeling about 2011.  I will share this contemplative process with you in subsequent blog articles.

May your new year be filled with roses and thorns and the wisdom and patience to know them as the blessings that they are.

Love,

Dori

P.S. – Come visit us at www.worldclassparenting.com to find out more about how to become a professional parent leader – parents who are committed to empowerment through conscious parenting, partnering and leadership, and who are proud to make professional parenting the priority in their lives.

Empowerment through conscious parenting, partnering and leadership.

As the mother of four boys, I’m hopeful that the old saying, “A daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life.  A son is a son until he takes a wife (or equivalent),” will not fully be our truth.  I will miss them, no matter their quirks, or mine, our issues or challenges.  They made our house a home.

Contemplating their departure brings me to tears, some days.  And on others, all I feel is joy and pride and relief, enjoying the space that’s being created for me, and for my husband and me, and for the life we’ve begun to imagine together after all of our kids have “launched.”

That imagining includes World Class Parenting.  Why?  Because World Class Parenting is as much about building powerful, conscious partnerships, as it is about building purposeful, conscious parents. It keeps me honest and present and it reminds to stay in choice, to actively nurture my relationships with my self and my husband, to keep all of my relationships “up-to-date,” and to be a finisher as it regards actively parenting my boys.  Why?  Because no matter how independent, tall, far away, old, young, playful, assertive, different, contrarian, difficult, or challenging they are, our children need us to love and accept and believe in them, period.

It is the number one thing our World Class Parenting coaching and course participants learn how to do – to begin in love and assume the best; to KNOW that they (the parents) matter and are THE most important source of belief, love, resilience and support for their children, especially during their formative years and throughout adolescence.

While I may not be the first one my children will share their secrets and heart’s desires with over time, I know it matters to them that I was there for them when I was the one they wanted to turn to and that I’m there for them now, still creating the safe container, still ready to listen, always holding them big and with compassion, serving as a resource.  As a World Class Parent, I will not assume that they always know or remember this.  I will forever be here to remind them that they are loved and that they matter, both in word and deed, physically and energetically.

Call to Action: Think about what you can do and how you can be, consciously, to remind your children that they matter and that they are loved.  HINT: You could just tell them this!  NOTE: Avoid apologies, caveats, explanations and the “big hairy but’s” that negate the wonderful things you say/do.  REMEMBER: It’s really that easy.  Just take a deep breath, look them in the eyes, tell them like you mean it, and pause…let the silence work its magic!  You can do it and it matters that you do!

Love,

Dori

Dear Dori and Frank:

I’ve always thought that someday my kids will reach an age when I could count on them to share in the chores at home.  If nothing else, I thought I could count on them to take care of their own things and their own space.  It seems that it is always a struggle and I constantly have to remind them to do so.  What would a World Class Parent do?

Aaron in Seattle
Dear Aaron:

This is a great subject and goes to the heart of a World Class Parent’s role as a steward to their children.  The subjects of being responsible and taking accountability for those tasks that are assigned to you begin at a very early age.  It starts with using the words and modeling the actions.

World Class Parents understand that kids are very literal in their thinking so they begin as early as they can to teach and model the act of responsibility by having their children assist in picking up after their activities and acknowledging them for “acting responsibly.”  The key is to hold them accountable for their assignments, to name what you are doing, and to avoid the temptation of doing the tasks for them.

The mindset is that it might take longer to accomplish the task now, but it will pay dividends later when it counts.

World Class Parents are always the model for what they want to teach and understand how important it is to be the example for their children first by explaining the action, “We’re off to the grocery store because it’s my responsibility to get the food,” followed by, “Thanks for helping me fulfill my responsibility.” “Now you be responsible and pick up your toys and straighten your room before dinner.”  Get used to using the words “responsibility” and “accountability” a lot.  You will feel like a broken record.  Do it anyway.

When a parent decides to use this language it’s important to sit down with your older children, one at a time, and explain how people who meet their responsibilities are appreciated for their contributions and make a positive difference.  Similarly, people who don’t meet their responsibilities often weaken a group or a situation and are looked upon as being unreliable or untrustworthy.  It can be just as powerful to point out when you, as the parent, fail at this as when you succeed.  Discuss the impact in each situation.  Both are instructive and help our children to know that we all take turns doing well and not so well at honoring our responsibilities and being accountable, and each has consequences.

When we are responsible and accountable, we get to celebrate and when we’re not, it helps to acknowledge this too, learn from it, own our impact, and then self-correct.  It helps to name each time this happens.  Again, you may feel like a broken record.  Do it anyway.  If your children are older and not following through as you’d hoped, ask yourself, “Do I have an explicit agreement with them about this?”  If not, that’s a good place to begin.  If so, then ask, “Are the consequences clear and am I following through?”

Consider your own behavior.  Are you modeling the process and the accountability you want from them?  Activate your observer and pay attention.  If you’re not, please refrain from beating yourself or them up (figuratively or literally) and pause to consider how you want things to work from this moment forward.  That’s the conversation that needs to take place and it’s an important one for you and for them.

As adults, we learn that if we don’t fulfill our responsibilities we generally face the consequences of our actions.  Our kids will be well served if they learn this early in life, ideally, at home where the stakes aren’t as high as they could be outside of the home and later in life.  Being accountable is a learned trait and someone is going to teach it either at home or away, destructively or constructively.  Which would you prefer?

Stewardship is taught in the first of the five World Class Parenting modules.  You can read more about this and other subjects in our new e-Book, “Stepping Into the World Class Parenting Mindset: How to be Proactive, Purposeful and Fundamentally Prepared for ANY Parenting Challenge You May Face,” which you can find at www.worldclassparenting.com.

In Service,

Frank

Whatever happened to my sweet, smiling, little, girl who entered middle school and immediately turned into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?  It seems I can’t have a civil conversation with her without it ending in an argument with a lot of back talk – I want my sweet little girl back!  What would a World Class Parent do?

Can’t Stand It Any More

Dear Can’t Stand It Any More:

When World Class Parents notice their children changing, they are prepared, both to celebrate the end of a life arc and to welcome the beginning of a new one.  There is a certain amount of sadness associated with the fact that those days of the cuddly little girl will diminish and be replaced with a more independent, less cuddly and adoring person.  The most important thing you can do right now to ease your own tension is to acknowledge this fact and pause a moment to let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling – welcome the sadness and it will enrich you and pass.

As with any new life phase, it is new both to the child and the parent.  Adjustments are required to make this transition less contentious and emotional.  It is time now, more than ever, for you to be an observant and curious parent.  Observe those comments that might be considered disrespectful or border on abusive and hold your child accountable for her behavior and her impact.  World Class Parents do not tolerate that in their homes, ever, so remind her of the family standards and what’s expected of her.

At the same time, be curious about the pressures your child may be experiencing that are the cause of so much stress or unhappiness.  Pausing to feel your own feelings will help you to imagine how she might be feeling.  Making the effort to walk a moment in her shoes will take you to a more peaceful and compassionate place.  Being able to sit down with her and empathize when things are not so emotionally charged will go a long way in reducing the adjustment pressures both of you are feeling.

As a World Class Parent you understand that your child must learn to deal with these life changes, grow in character, and learn to cope with the new environment she is functioning in.  It is not necessary to engage your daughter once the rules are restated; it is better, simply, to walk away.  She may not be happy with your comments but as long as they are consistent with the family values they remain the law of the household.  In fact, virtually every adolescent we’ve worked with tells us that they secretly depend on their parents to reinforce these, consistently; to maintain the structures and the ‘rules’ that help them to feel safe as they venture out into the world and further from the safety and security of their homes.  This is one of the many gifts World Class Parents give their children.

Earlier, I mentioned that a celebration is in order.  Often, these transitions go unnoticed.  It is a gift to recognize that this is a rite of passage and useful to acknowledge it and the person experiencing it by naming it out loud.  While grieving the ending of a childhood stage that it represents, you also get to welcome the new stage that is emerging, the start of womanhood.

Naming, grieving and celebrating these transitions are gifts that World Class Parents give their kids (and themselves) and that pave the way for more acceptance and greater ease in the transition to young adulthood.

These and other concepts are discussed in detail under “Parent Mindset” in our book, Stepping Into the World Class Parenting Mindset: How to be Proactive, Purposeful and Fundamentally Prepared for ANY Parenting Challenge You May Face, which can be found at www.worldclassparenting.com.

In Service,
Frank

My husband and I seem to be at odds in the way we parent our two children.  He has always left the discipline up to me, but, I find that many times he overrides my decisions on children’s activities when the kids complain to him.  This creates friction between us and most of the time makes me look like the “bad guy.”  What would a World Class Parent Do?

Frustrated Michigan Mom

Dear Frustrated Michigan Mom:

This is a common challenge World Class Parent leaders face.  When children begin to exercise their thoughtful powers of persuasion they realize that sometimes one parent might be manipulated to agree over another.  They test this with friends or hear of friends using this “technique” with their parents, so why not try it on their own?  For World Class Parents, the teachable moment comes when they recognize the manipulation and respond with the lesson.

The first part of the lesson will be achieved when you and your husband create an agreement with each other on dealing with activity decisions, including how you choose to inform the children about YOUR agreement.  As the “Anchor Parent,” who has been selected to maintain structure in the household, you are vulnerable to being viewed as the “bad guy” unless both you and Michigan Dad determine the roles each play in the family and get in agreement first.  This is a sacred act.  When this is accomplished, the only responses to activities are, “Have you discussed this with your mother?” or, “I will discuss this with your mother and WE will let you know OUR decision.”

Leaders understand that creating a reliable structure and being consistent with the ‘rules’ maintains a level and fair playing field for all, sets standards of behavior and excellence, and provides an environment of safety and security for all. This paves the way to higher levels of performance and more harmony.

The basis for this scenario and all others like it are contained in the World Class Parenting Cornerstone Principles 1 and 3, Sacred Agreements and Maintaining Lifelong Influence.  We touch on these in our e-Book, Stepping Into the World Class Parenting Mindset: How to be Proactive, Purposeful and Fundamentally Prepared for ANY Parenting Challenge You May Face, which can be found at www.worldclassparenting.com.

We go into these in depth in our five, World Class Parenting Program Modules (schedule-friendly and flexible, phone- and internet-based, education, training and coaching programs for parents) dedicated to the five common themes and practices that we have found present in all high-functioning, healthy and happy families.  These include our World Class Parenting Fundamentals module and the four World Class Parenting Cornerstones Modules, course offerings which will be available soon.  The four, Cornerstone Principles include: 1. Creating & Honoring Sacred Agreements, 2. Developing & Gifting Guiding Principles, 3. Maintaining Lifelong Influence, and 4. Putting Relationships First & Building Families with Soul.  Additional information and course schedules will be posted at www.worldclassparenting.com.

In Service,
Frank

Recently my husband and I heard about a teenage girl committing suicide after she was bullied by several classmates – it was all over the news.  In this world today with so many stressors being brought to bear on our children, what would a World Class Parent do to provide the coping tools that would help our children to deal with situations like this?

Really Concerned Mom

Dear Really Concerned Mom:

Dori and I share your concern on this subject.  Times have changed as childhood has been shortened and early adult behavior has been encouraged among young adolescents who really don’t have the skills to act upon them.

The answer to your question lies within the guiding principles you foster and model for your children.  At World Class Parenting we are champions for fully vetted and articulated Family Values, which are one of our Four Cornerstone Principles.  When values are in alignment all decisions are easy to make. Values are used as internal measuring tools by our children to determine whether the action they are about to take is supported by their family and personal values.  If not, their own red flags would go up and cause them to question their choice.  Ideally, as a result, they will choose to engage with you or someone they trust in a conversation or a more constructive act that serves them.

Values define the character or soul of the Family.  Your children will know they are a part of something bigger than just themselves.  This gives them the strength to say “no” when appropriate and it also gives them a clear glimpse of who they are in the world, their personal strength in character; and, of course, self confidence.

The person I’ve just described does not travel on a path of self destruction but seeks those activities and associates who share and honor personal values as a way of life.

This subject is discussed thoroughly under the second Cornerstone Principle of World Class Parenting found in our Handbook for Parents entitled: “Stepping Into the World Class Parenting Mindset: How To Be Proactive, Purposeful and Fundamentally Prepared For ANY Parenting Challenge You May Face” found on our website at www.worldclassparenting.com.

In Service,

Frank

Today, I’m realizing that, while summer school and good work are good things, we all could have used a bit more time “on vacation” than we’d given ourselves.  My boys are scholar athletes and worked hard the entire school year.  They still have sports practices every day and are very reliable and consistent in their attendance and work ethic.  They wouldn’t dream of missing a practice or a class.  I admire them for that and respect their work ethic and commitment to mastery AND I feel the drain and the longing for absolutely nothing to do, without apology, excuse or explanation!

When I picked them up from school yesterday, they seemed drained and ambivalent, struggling to find something good to say about the day.  Today, they were more animated and had more perspective, which is good and speaks to their admirable ability to adapt AND what I’m realizing is that we could really use some more down time, some ‘do nothing and be a sloth’ time, some ‘I don’t have to accomplish or account for anything’ time, some ‘I can sleep in until whenever’ time.  Everyone needs this, now and then.  I know I do.

For some of us, even downtime needs to be scheduled in!

This is valuable time.  It’s when our muscles repair, our bodies rest and our imaginations refresh and begin to flourish anew.

In this very moment, I’m recommitting to creating some space for this in our summer.  I intend to be a vigilant carrier of the downtime flag.  With full permission, we will have at least one week of all of the above and we will enjoy the crap out of it, I am certain of this.  I’m smiling as I imagine it.

Summer School, Sports and Sloth – each can be and is a very good thing.

Call to Action: To moms and dads everywhere, I urge you to join me/us in a bit of refreshing downtime, won’t you?   Schedule it in if you have to!  I would love to hear all about how you spend yours!  Here’s to a day or two or three (or more!) away from the normal routines of life.  Enjoy every minute of it.  Savor every second.  And then share your news and your experiences as they may ignite new fires and inspire more of us to take very needed and wanted breaks.  Enjoy!

At World Class Parenting, we know that life can be very, very good, something to savor and enjoy, filled with new beginnings and possibilities.  And, it can be very, very challenging, filled with curve balls, traumas, loss and sometimes very painful endings.  At World Class Parenting, we embrace all of it and teach our parents how to pause and appreciate what they have and what they’ve accomplished together, how to constructively hold the tension and sit in the heart of the paradoxes of life, how to stand in new perspectives that serve, and how to build new muscles that enhance relationships and that benefit from the breadth and depth of their experiences and individual and collective wisdom.

Life is hard.  It does not have to be harder.  We help parents to stay hopeful, to have faith in their original vision for themselves, their children and their families, to stay the course, and to continue to believe in the beauty of their dreams.

We help parents to keep the aliveness in their lives, their relationships and their homes, or recover it if it has diminished in the midst of the busyness and the outside-in pressures that take a cumulative toll over time.  We teach tangible skills that help parents to stay in choice about parenting, to minimize the worries and stressors in their lives, and to meet the challenges and opportunities they face head on and in healthy ways that work.

We have created powerful and relevant resources to support you in your mission to become a more masterful parent and to successfully launch self-aware, self-responsible, independent, ethical and service/community-oriented, happy young adults into the world.

We created World Class Parenting in response to the requests of thousands of parents everywhere, parents we’ve worked with in our coaching practices and support groups, neighbors, friends and family, all of whom said we have something special here that more parents want and need to know.  So, here it is.

To learn more, we invite you to go to our website, www.worldclassparenting.com.

We welcome you to it with open arms.  And we encourage you to join us, as you are ready.

Warmly,

Dori Klass & Frank Brogni,

Co-Founders & Your Partners in World Class Parenting

P.S. – Please tell your friends about us and share the wealth!