Ahhhhhhh……words do not do justice to the feeling of relief and peace that I am currently experiencing. You may be wondering what could provide a busy mom/psychologist ( Momchologist? ) with this deep sense of satisfaction. Did I win the lottery? Am I on a relaxing, luxurious vacation? Nope and nope. Nothing quite that monumental, allthough it truly feels that way. What is currently unfolding, before my very eyes, is little Alexandra, swinging with delight from the uneven bars at gymnastics (you got to love one way mirrors…what is better than seeing your little one when they can’t see you). You may be a bit underwhelmed at the cause of my glee, given my tremendous build up, but what you don’t know is the journey that we have been on to arrive at this place. I have signed Alexandra up for countless classes. I have cajoled, I have encouraged, I have bribed, I have reinforced effective behavior, I have used every trick in my PhD book to assist her in attending classes with minimal fear/tears/ screeching/drama. I have worked my butt off to have her walk right in to a class, with a sense of mastery and composure and drum roll please…SHE DID IT!!! SHE DID IT!!! (I apologize to parents of young children who now have the Dora theme in their head). So, I am signing off for now, so I can enjoy this little slice of heaven but I will be back soon. Because one thing I know, as a Momchologist (I am starting to like it), when it comes to warding off the “anxiety monster”‘, you are training for a marathon, not a race.
