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Schooled by 7-year-olds

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My son asked me a few weeks ago to have lunch with him at school, but I either didn’t have the time or the money, or I had my shadow with me, a.k.a. his little sister. Yesterday, I had time, money and no shadow. I bought his favorite meal from Whataburger and strolled in to school not knowing what to expect. What I observed and heard from this group of 6 and 7 year olds made me realize that we as adults have much to learn from them. First, a little background: At the age of 3, my son was diagnosed with anxiety, sensory processing disorder (SPD) and a developmental delay. The SPD and anxiety affect each other a lot. For example, if it’s too noisy, it can overwhelm him and his anxiety makes him respond emotionally: tears, screaming, an inability to quickly calm himself. Math is a huge anxiety trigger. He thinks it’s hard before he starts and he generally responds aggressively, like throwing objects and kicking over chairs. The first half of the school year was pure hell. He was sen...
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It’s okay to be selfish

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About two months ago, a friend and I were walking around the mall. He wanted to check out all the shoe stores and he asked me when was the last time I bought shoes. “Like...for myself?” I asked. He looked at me like I had grown another head. “Yeah, for you.” “I bought some shoes to work out in, but the kids are growing out of all their stuff at the same time,” I said. “I’m always getting stuff for them and rarely get myself anything.” Pause. “Wow, that sounds really bad when I say it out loud.” While perusing social media, I see countless blogs about how women should think about themselves more. Yet, I still see an equal number of women asking how to do self care. I used to be like that. I was so wrapped up in taking care of everyone else that I forgot about the most important person in the house. Me. Think about that for a second. I didn’t bother to take care of myself. I didn’t take care of ME. I always made sure the kids and hubby were fed, but then was too tired to e...
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We’ve come a long way, babies!

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I’m reading my previous posts and laughing at how much my life has changed in almost eight years. The “Munchkin” I spoke so much about did end up being named Preston (trying to look serious above in the red shirt), and he turns 7 years old in a couple of weeks. 🤭😱 He is also a big brother to 3-year-old Maya. Hubs? No more. We got divorced in June, but we remain good friends and coparents. I also started my writing and marketing business, Sharryn Dotson Consulting LLC, after I was laid off from my job. Now that you’re caught up on my life, I’m sure you can guess that the direction of my blog is changing. Instead of my thoughts and excitement at being a new wife and mom, you get to walk with me as I deal with being a single mom and business owner. The times when I have to pick between actually paying attention to my kids or finishing up a writing project so I can get paid. How do you balance taking a phone call when the little one wants all of your attention (here’s a hint: no...
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