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Raleigh Family Portraits | Rebecca Keller Photography | Calligraphy by Greywinds Collection
This past weekend I got to go (well drive down the street) on a retreat at North Hills just for Mamas with my church. It was a super fun time eating dinner at Coquette, doing a little shopping but mostly eating a ton of food, having a lot of fellowship, learning from each other and our speaker. One of my favorite parts was at the very end, a panel of Moms (one with teenagers, one whose children had all just left for college, and one grandmother) gave us advice. I loved so much what they said + wanted to share some wisdom from these Mamas.
I am not kidding if not the very first piece of advice from one of the Mamas (it may have been second or third, I honestly can’t remember, but I feel like she said it first) was to give the camera to someone else and to be in more photos with your children. She was looking back through photos of her kids and realized she wasn’t in the photos. I am so guilty of this, too, and need to be better at handing the camera, cell phone, etc to someone else.
Ok here are their thoughts. I hope they encourage you!
- They won’t starve. Sometimes you have to let some things go.
- Keep your perspective. There are no guaranteed outcomes with your kids. Focus on your effort and the process, not the result.
- Be all there when you are there.
- Laugh with your children and enjoy them.
- Play more Candy Land
with your kids. Owen actually lovvvvves candyland so we play this a lot. I don’t know why I am surprised at how much he loves it, but he really does. (Spend that one on one time playing whatever it is they want to play even if you don’t like it)
- Create an atmosphere of peace at home and be your husband’s biggest fan
- They learned their best things through their mistakes.
- All of the moms discussed overcommitting and having to pull back. One mom said she made a mission statement and if commitments didn’t fall in line with her mission statement, she said no or didn’t participate.
- We also discussed friendships. One mom said for friendship it was up to her to make it happen so she put herself out there at parks and met moms that also had little ones her sons’s age. Finding a walking buddy was also something that worked well for one Mama.
I hope these encouraged you! Every mom also discussed getting up early – having their quiet time or trying to squeeze in a workout before the kids got up. I have also found this super helpful (I love getting up early) on the days it works out. I’m not always so great at getting up early!
Rebecca Keller is a Wake Forest Family Photographer NC featured in People Magazine who spends her time sipping iced coffee, chasing after her two little ones, reading, running, and editing. Because I chat alot about my personal life, books i’ve read, and other style recommendations, etc– I may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Raleigh Family Portraits and travel sessions.