Follow along on my journey through daily struggles of motherhood, while navigating unpredictable challenges with a toxic coparent, to the rewarding growth of a beautifully blended family! All from the distinct perspective of a clinical supervisor guiding therapists through ethical dilemmas all the way to the profound therapeutic healing of an abuse victim. Bring an open heart & enjoy my adventure! Xoxo, Amy {the inspired therapist}✌️
Apparently I’ve found my dream store for home decor. And obviously I’ve realized I am looking forward to decorating MY own home that I’ve worked for many hard years to obtain!
What do you think of these colors and themes?
Stay tuned for more ideas! And please leave me comments! Exactly what are your decor dreams?
Xoxo
oh, p.s. here’s the source for my beautiful visions! Anthropologie
I’ve been working hard to get caught up with all my paperwork, and I wanted to take a break. I laid down with my son as he was slowly waking from his nap. He said, “Mommy, lay down right here (points to the other side of his body where I can’t physically fit) and close you eyes, scratch my back and go nite nite with me.”
In this moment I’m describing, I feel this overwhelming intensity of LOVE.
This happens to me often but this time I tell myself to actually feel it.
I’m usually behind on something, late for just about anything or have some task to complete. I realized that I’m embarrassed to say, I’m not letting myself TRULY feel those moments. Not like I should anyway.
The more stress I feel, the more tense I am, and I’ve just realized I am snappy with my baby boy.
That baby boy that has no idea how much he is loved. Or how intense that love I feel for him is…
I decided I need to blog about him. He’s my three year old son! My baby boy! The baby that changed my life forever.
He says the sweetest things to me and others, but here are some of my favorite:
I looked at my sweet boy playing independently this morning and I was so proud so I wanted to share a photo even though he fought to play with that deodorant too.
Also some of our weekend with another cabin at the lake so my boys could get some bonding time fishing and look how big our puppy is getting!
Some stories from the past weekend:
Also realized it’s August and now fall is just around the corner! So I’m visualizing some items that prepare me for my absolute FAVE season!
More coming soon…
Xoxo 😘
Amy
I’m the world’s worst at trying to accommodate others – not uncommon in “helping” professionals. More specifically, I’ve noticed some patterns in myself. Those behaviors include being over-apologetic, taking most of the blame or explaining away others mistakes to resolve conflicts quickly and avoid tension.
I’ve noticed that I tend to lead with my flaws, even though I’m a pretty confident person, especially as a therapist which makes me dissect this part of my personality in effort to grow.
My question to you: when is being flexible with others too much?
I find myself being quick to take responsibility for miscommunication between myself and others. It seems like even this is not enough for some, because they take advantage of it and still refuse any accountability. I find myself irritated with other people’s lack of humility.
Why is it so difficult for some to recognize their mistakes or even to acknowledge that they could have accidentally misunderstood, miscommunicated, etc.? I’ve reached my limit with specific people that I’m recognizing as unfair to my kindness. I realize that I’ve got to practice what I preach/teach. I have to be more assertive in some situations. That’s obviously my problem to tackle.
This is my challenge to navigate, which is not impossible. Thankfully I’m self-aware enough to put some effort into this. However, as a therapist I’ve always had a bit of a curse to evaluate the reasoning behind those who choose the position that I continue to encounter in my professional and personal life.
My reason for the blog is inspired from these particular questions after the ideas surfaced in some discussions with my family and friends.
I tend to sense a common trait in the person in this situation and that’s why I’m having the difficulty understanding them.
Maybe it’s just me! Maybe I have been through a journey that’s taught me to show others that I’m a human being capable of making mistakes in a very vital part of introducing one to the idea of therapy. This is probably more of a subconscious process to create collusion and trust. I’ve always been told that people in the the therapeutic process engage with me easily and quickly.
After a lot of thought, I’m seeing that although it seems like it’s strange that this isn’t common sense… many people haven’t realized that it’s a little ridiculous to be critical of others. In 2018 if you have the nerve to be judgmental, do you really think that other people believe the concept you’re attempting to present?
Perfection is NOT possible. In fact, the people so arrogant to assume they always know the answer completely discredit themselves. Especially when they attack others that seem to make them feel threatened.
Every single person is always in a learning process. Those open to the process, are even changing and growing throughout their experiences! Unfortunately, the people that need to be open to that growth or learn ways to be better in general seem to be in denial that they can always improve. The ones that especially bother me are those that have made major mistakes, as a parent (those are at the top of the list because it has affected children) or they’ve hurt other people – they seem to be the ones I’ve noticed in this pattern of behavior the most!
If you’ve ever had a problem with a substance, yes – even those that say “I used to drink too much” or take too much prescription drugs (yes, I know you’ll argue because “hey, it’s prescribed to me”) you have had a problem. This puts you in an addict category. If you’re not familiar with addiction, and seem to have never had any issues-ha! Good for you! We ALL have our weaknesses. Our character flaws. It’s rare that you’ve been able to avoid all mental illness and addiction. I’m not being harsh-it’s just reality. My mantra was for years, “some are sicker than others”. Meaning: great for you that you’ve been blessed to not have to beg for help or forgiveness. But at some point, we all need to.
Either way I’d put money on it that the statistics are high that so many people have, at the very least gone through tough times. These are all my reasons to believe that EVERYONE should have compassion for others.
✌️
I sure hope that if you’re reading this, you had a weekend as enjoyable as mine!
We got to actually get away to a little lakeside cottage resort that we visited about four years ago that’s been completely renovated. Along with our cabin, we reserved a poolside room at the lodge on the property for more family all in effort to celebrate our sweet boy’s third birthday!
A few close friends and family visited for the weekend, and we got to enjoy a huge pool, newly added splash pad and of course activities for the kids – all with a beautiful view of and access to the lake!
We had cake and snacks, my grill master was busy all weekend cooking hot dogs, brats and the goodies we all expect. But by far, the best part of the experience is how much fun our little boy had! He was showered with tons of gifts and had the most amazing time riding his brand new bike through the water fountains for hours while we all got to relax comfortably! This in itself is a huge relief as it makes it to at least 100 degree heat and almost 100% humidity during July, here in the mid-south.
I posted my fave photos on Instagram so of course I’ll share with my awesome readers too! And stay tuned for a blog I’ve been working to complete, inspired by the weekend topics of deep discussion after the kids went to bed. My favorite kind of discussion: NO children involved!
Xoxo
Is TURNING THREE!!!
It’s so bittersweet.
I have a very special bond with him that I’m sure other parents know and feel with their children. I was so lost when God gave me my son. I told my little boy yesterday (I realize that his understanding of this information is limited) that mommy and daddy prayed for him before he was born. Right when God had brought me to the point that I was ready, boom! I found out he was growing inside me!
The rest is history!
I’ve never in my life felt more complete, truly happy and full of deep love. There’s nothing like the feelings that come with parenthood. I can’t even describe how thankful I feel daily. Each time I find myself upset about anything at all, I’m reminded of how amazing life is because of my baby boy.
I hope he feels extra special this year! I’ve never worked close enough to his daycare to run over mid-day to surprise him. I’m going to shower him with lots of love and attention in the morning, bring cupcakes to his class, then the whole family will be at the lake in a cabin for the weekend to celebrate! We’ve got lots of exciting details planned for our big 3 year old!
I’ll be posting lots of photos, I promise!
Xoxo
Amy
See the reality of mommy/wifey life-through the unique lens of a licensed therapist and clinical supervisor. 