Changing the world...

 My sweet firstborn is 5 years old today! I still look at her and am full of awe at how this little human life IS. Joy at how she is unfolding into her years.

Everyone says (and we know), that it goes fast, so fast.

Over the last few years, I have often had this phrase floating round my head:  "You are shaping another person's childhood". That is an awesome and wonderful thing, especially for those us for whom childhood has held dark times.

The power to create a big stock of happy memories.

Memories of simply being held and touched.

Memories of play, creativity, romping on the floor, silliness, inquisitve questioning.

Memories of being heard, deeply listened to and valued for what you say and are.

Memories of knowing you matter, your feelings matter and are worthy of a loving (which sometimes means firm) response.

Memories of community, of relatedness and connection to a 'tribe' of people (in our case, urban and patched together from many walks of life!).

This is our power, our responsibility as parents and carers of children - to create childhoods that whilst not perfect (for we will all bear internal wounds as well as grazes to our childhood knees) are nonetheless brimming with  goodness, connectedness, creativity and a sense of wonder that will give our little people all they need to stand tall as loving humans in the middle of a broken world. This is our power - to face up to the historical wounds that have remained toxic, unhealed and passed from generation to generation,  look them square in the eye and say "The buck stops here - the poison from this wound goes no further".

I am helping create my sweet babe's childhoods through love, kindness and hard internal work using the tools of self-awareness, honesty, grace and hope.

This is how we change the world. One childhood at a time.