Being :: Performing Motherhood ? Rhythm of the Home Blog

Being: Conscious, mortal existence; life.

Every month we welcome two families, two people, two voices to share their stories in whatever way they choose.? We hope that you find joy in their daily lives, and their simple habit of just being.

Being a parent while in public is akin to performance art. Your values, politics and even mental health are revealed to an ever watching (and often critical) audience when you are doing mundane activities like sitting in a waiting room or helping a child navigate a tricky situation.

When my children were younger I felt like a performance artist just walking out of the house because I had three kids under four. Strangers watched me ?and commented ?to each other, wondering how ?I would get them in the car or walk with them in the store. Then they would give me feedback about my execution! I was floored that people would take interest in my daily habits. But then I realized we are all watching each other all the time.

I often think, especially when I am encountering some questionable or even harmful parenting , that positive, fun parenting in public is a good thing. I nurse in public, I treat my children with respect, I sing to them (now this embarrasses them), I am happy with my kids, ?they talk to me and I engage with them. As they get older, we are more ?often ?losing control laughing at inside jokes and our general weirdness.?

The world needs more of this. I am always uplifted and inspired when I see a family that seems to have it together. When the kids and parents are talking and joking and look like they really like each other, I watch closer ? trying to see if there is a secret I can pull into ?my own family.

Between the time I had my first and second child, I met someone who breastfed her daughter on demand, anywhere. She was not flashing her breast around nor shy and covering up with a tent. She was simply feeding her child as she went about her life. I know if I did not SEE people like her breastfeeding their children or peacefully parenting, I would not have been able to do those things with my kids, at least not as easily.

So it seems important.

Many times the possibilities we can imagine are pulled from our experiences and life stories we have witnessed.

We are advocates for the things we believe in whether or not we chose to be. My most common encounter now is a response to the fact that we homeschool. It is amazing how swiftly strangers work their way into our space and drill us on: why we are homeschooling, how can we possible do it, do our children ever see other children, do we watch TV, how do we know what to teach them and on and on?. While annoying, I also see it as a challenge. I attempt to show through our actions and just by being who we are, that it is okay to create and design your own life based on your family?s interests. I am beginning to think that notion, while basic, ?is radical, and thus deserves to be more visible in the public sphere.

I have recently been thinking about feminist art in the 1960?s. ?The performance art was in some cases as ?simple as an artist living in a museum with an infant; thatwas considered revolutionary and shifted women?s issues and struggles from the home into a public dialogue.I wonder what other messages we might send out in to the world as we live out loud and proudly BE who we are? This month we are pleased to welcome Amy to the blog to participate in the Being series. Amy blogs about inspired family living and leads e-labs designed to help families take the leap into developing a creative family culture at Mama Scouts. Thanks for sharing with us, Amy!

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Rhythm of the Home is an?online magazine?for families that focuses on creating with children, nature explorations, seasonal celebrations, conscious parenting, and mindfulness in all that we do. ? To learn more about us, please visit us on?Facebook, Pinterest, and?Twitter.

We welcome new submissions for our upcoming seasons. To learn more about submitting, please visit our?magazine.

Source: http://rhythmofthehomeblog.com/03/being-performing-motherhood/

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