4 Lessons on motherhood from Dorothy and the merry old land of OZ

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby

There is a moment in time in every parents life when reality strikes, that sobering “aha” moment when you realize that the cute-soft-baby-powder-smelling-tiny-sock-wearing-angelic-little-cutie is growing into an actual person … a person who likes to tell you “NO”.   That sweet, “milk breath” infant has now become a child with some serious morning breath.  So there you are, sitting in a pile of laundry, with cold coffee, and bad hair … feeling like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.  You aren’t in Kansas anymore. Your life is no longer your own and as your travel down the yellow brick road, you wonder why nobody bothered to tell you how hard this was going to be.

 Here are a few things I picked up from Dorothy, things I’ve learned while raising 4 children in the Merry Old Land of OZ.

1. Every mom needs a pair of ruby slippers.  Put them on often, click the heels together and dare to dream that magical things can happen ~ my slippers happen to be cheetah.

 Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

2. Don’t ever give up on YOUR dream to get back to Kansas.  In other words, don’t forget who YOU were  before the munchkins came and made life sticky with those giant lollipops.  Motherhood is a somewhat scary, magical, dance down the yellow brick road.  Like Dorothy, we set out  with a pep in our step.  Arm in arm we go with our children to find a heart and some courage, but once they hit those teenage years , well then we are on a desperate search to find them a brain.  Don’t forget that Dorothy went down the yellow brick road to help the others find what they needed, but she never forgot that she was on that road for herself as well.

 Someday I’ll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far

behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That’s where you’ll find me

3. Don’t  wish away today for the hope of lemon drops tomorrow.  Perhaps this sounds familiar, “I’ll have time for myself,  once they sleep through the night-once they are in school all day-once they graduate from high school.” If this is you, you will be painfully disappointed to find the “The Great Oz” you’re hoping to find in the future doesn’t exist.   Enjoy each moment with your precious ones, but don’t forget about YOU, today.   In my experience, each season of raising children presents a whole new set of challenges, getting them to sleep through  the night only turns into, “Can I stay out all night for prom, with him?”

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why then, oh why can’t I?

If happy little bluebirds fly

Beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can’t I?

4. Don’t let flying monkeys or lions, tigers, and laundry tell you that you can’t fly.   There is no greater joy for a mother than to watch her little birds soar into the sky.  Nothing in all the world  makes my heart sing louder than my children’s happiness, but I want to fly too, don’t you?  Sometimes when you stay in the nest too long, you forget that your wings work, you lose your confidence, but believe me, you can fly.  The only thing holding you back is your own fear of jumping out of the nest.   Maybe you like to paint, to sing,  to dance or even dream of starting your own business … Whatever it is,  remember the ” the dreams that you dare to dream, really can come true.”  

Here is a glimpse of my latest project outside the nest… The Fresh 20 Cookbook