Parenting is…

“Parenting is a full time job …

… and mine is writing” wrote a controversial twentieth century author Ayn Rand. I listened and, what now seems like centuries ago (actually, it was 2005), I changed careers. I hadn’t always been certain that I wanted to have kids. But I was sure that should I choose the path of motherhood, I was going all the way.

I gave up a successful career in technology, the fast-paced thrill of the .com world, the easy-going double-laptop lifestyle my husband and I had gotten used to and plunged myself head first into the parenting career. I did a copious amount of research and thinking, purchased enough books to open a parenting library, committed myself to being all I could be as a mommy and … got it all wrong. At first, anyway. I stumbled and learned, and tried and failed and occasionally succeeded. I never gave up on the idea of a reason-based focused approach to parenting; never allowed myself to believe that motherhood is an automatic instinct or that a mother must know what to do if she just listens to her heart. Nor that “all you need is to love your child; things will work out for themselves”. I kept on learning and sifting through various theories, research and insights.

I still haven’t figured it all out. But I succeed more often than I fail and more profoundly. My little project is turning into a person with qualities I’ve always admired: intelligence, strength, self-confidence, independence, benevolence and kindness. The journey is tough and thrilling; at times lonely and all-encompassing.If you believe that reason is the fundamental on which all knowledge and experience rest and than parenting should be pursued as seriously as any other professional endeavor, then I hope this blog makes a difference to your day.