Family

The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.
~Julia Cameron

I would like to introduce my family: my husband, Graeme and my three daughters, Laura, Emily and Julia. Graeme is very supportive and involved in raising our children. He is striving for his own balance. Laura is married, a former homeschooler and a wonderful writer (much better than me) and lives in BC. Emily is a teenager, very physically active and loves to sing and play the piano. Julia is a preteen, very independent, loves drawing and writing.

My philosophy about raising children has changed slightly since I had my first child. I was stricter and more cautious at first. My attitude is more laid-back now. I never did want to raise my children as we were brought up – with a lot of rules and restrictions. Of course homework, chores and discipline are important as well. I still try to keep guidelines for them in some areas such as personal safety, school and television. I believe children should not be scheduled all the time. We believe that children need time and space to explore and be creative. Our home is usually relaxed and peaceful, although sometimes it is noisy with activity as well.

When my children were younger (preschool age) I was very in favour of “attachment parenting”. They were all breastfed and carried and held a lot. I stayed home for the first year or two and only worked part-time after that. Now that they are older they are quite confident and independent. A great site for parents about attachment parenting is The Natural Child Project. Now that they are older, they go to some organized activities and spend their time at home in very unstructured ways. They enjoy imaginative games, drawing and other crafts, computer programs, and playing music and singing. In the summer they spend lots of time outside and we go swimming, canoeing and camping often.

My family is very important to me but I am also trying to take some more time for myself. I am striving to set a balance between the needs and demands of my family, my career and myself. This website shows how I am trying to do this. That is why it is called Emerging Balance. I am also looking for people who have similar ideas and experiences to share them with me.