Happy New Year

On behalf of POEM, I extend our best wishes for a healthy and happy 2012. Here’s to a positive outlook and moving forward.


http://www.idlehearts.com/

Here’s also to a goodbye of 2011. At POEM, 2011 brought many mothers to us to work through the depths and fright of anxiety and depression. Perhaps you may look at your year like this mom:
2011? HA

And maybe some are feeling a little iffy about this calendar year, too. Well, that’s okay. All is not lost. Hope’s still in there.

Amid your review of last year and anticipation of the year ahead, I ask you to look at your expectations. Happy New Year: What’s your expectation of what that means? And is it realistic? Oftentimes, if your expectations are met or surpassed, things are rosy. If they’re different or not met, the outlook changes. Happy doesn’t mean perfect. Happy doesn’t mean there aren’t problems, failures, difficulties and challenges. Happy isn’t defined by someone else’s view.

If you’re looking for bliss or worrying about how others see you, the folks at OSU say that’s not so good for you. Here’s a recent study highlighting the effects on parents of perfectionism and worrying about what everyone else thinks. “Moms showed less confidence in their parenting abilities and dads felt more stress when they were more worried about what other people thought about their parenting skills.” Article LINK

I’m not saying let’s dream for mediocrity. Let’s just factor in the unexpected, complications and challenges as things we all face. Happy happens even in the midst of them. No matter where you are in your journey of motherhood, you’ll find your happy.