The Walking Encyclopedia

Do you have a friend who you always go to with random questions? And your friend either seems to know immediately, or knows exactly where to go to get the information? It's like using Google with your friend's voice attached.

Well, I have been that friend so often, that my sister decided it was time I started a blog. I have two children, a daughter and a son, who will be 4 and 2 respectively, in March 2008. I wasn't the first among my friends to have children, but I seemed to be the first among my friends who wanted to raise her children more naturally. This meant I had few role models and seemed to be inventing my own wheels as I trudged through mud.

When my friends call me, or friends of friends, or friends of sisters, I am a bit taken aback. I try my best to raise my children without unnecessary medical intervention, without pesticides on our food, without chemicals in our home, and all those other "natural" things, but I am not an expert. I am just a mother who has tried many different ways of diapering, feeding, sleeping, disciplining, and any other "-ing" associated with parenting. My own gut tells me that living naturally creates better health, which creates a better life for us all. And when you seem to be going against the grain of what society considers the proper way to parent, your gut is all you have. It is your own natural resource.

But what is natural mothering? For me, mothering naturally is grounded in doing what is best for my children. This is a simple answer. All difficult tasks have simple explanations. Doing what is best for my children includes:
doing what is best for my husband and myself
doing what is best for other humans
doing what is best for animals, and
doing what is best for the environment.
You can see this is no small undertaking. But no matter if you breastfeed or not, co-sleep or not, circumcise or not, parenting is difficult. Which is why we need friends.

No matter at what parenting stage you find yourself, you must find friends who will support your parenting style. Not just someone to smile and nod while you nurse your 18-month old in public and rant about the marketing techniques of formula companies, but someone who can truly support your decisions. Better yet, find someone who can provide you with information to help you make the best decision for you and your family. Someone who understands that the only experts for your child are the parents of that child. Someone who understands that parenting may not come naturally to us all, but we can still parent naturally.

Welcome. You have found that someone. I look forward to our children growing together.