mindfulness- Staying calm amidst stress

Dear UU Parents and Guardians,

It would be lovely if you could join us for our weekly gatherings!

Here is what is currently being offered:

*Sunday School *
Approximately: 30 minute program geared towards K-5 but open to all ages
Sundays at 11am
Email me for the link
Lesson with the amazing Morissa Raymond this Sunday! 
This summer you will find: Drag Queen Story Hour, Yoga with Maggie, and the
Pioneers Park Nature Center as well as guests from our very own UU
volunteer pool of caring adults. Each week is something different!

*Middle and HS Zoom *
We are now combining with Omaha youth groups and this will be
offered *Wednesday* nights 7-8:30pm
Come meet some other cool UUs!
Email me for the link

*Parent and Guardian Chat: *
The chance for parents and guardians to just get together and
Every other Thursday 8pm and every other Wednesday noon

Thursday July 9th at 8pm
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/866583131     Password: lovemykids
 Wednesday July 15th at noon
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/474526337     Password: lovemykids    

*New Youtube links for this week!*

Music with Miss Molly:    https://youtu.be/RxEVqtzh-5I  
Story with Miss Heather: https://youtu.be/qwyzjXblnQY

Chelsea's Meditation Video: https://youtu.be/iLqmymH0SHk

Theme this week: Staying Calm Amidst Stress

Reflection:
Last week my tire kept losing air. I took my car into a tire shop for them to put a patch on and remove a nail. I drove home assuming everything was fixed. The next morning, I had to take the cat to the vet. My daughter loves seeing the cats at the vet's office, so I let her go into daycare later than usual and come with me. Cat, baby, and 3 year-old in tow, I drove down the street towards the vet's office. A mile down the road my tire went flat. The patch hadn't worked. I sprained my ankle a few weeks back and it was still healing. In the chaos, I had failed to remember to put my ankle brace on. In the joy of summer, I had worn a short summer dress. I now found myself on the side of the road (thankfully) using my air compressor, totally in pain, revealing my back side to the cars passing by, and listening to a hot, crying, baby and cat and whining 3 year-old in the car. I then cautiously drove to the tire shop for them to do the repair. I brought my whole circus inside. No one was too happy to be there. The cat and baby continued to cry. The 3 year-old tore through every magazine, touched every surface, and talked to everyone who walked through the door. What helped me get through that day? Breathing and gratitude. It sounds cliche, but I think I might have lost my mind had I not remembered to take a whole lot of deep breaths through the process, and remind myself 'it could be worse'. I also had to laugh at myself and the situation. I took a photo to remember the moment and add to my baby's digital baby book. This is what parenting looks like sometimes. Yet, thankfully, my car was still driveable. I had a carrier for my cat that kept him safe. I had remembered the baby carrier and had both hands free. I had remembered my credit card. The 3 year-old had used the toilet before we left. I had remembered to charge the air compressor a few weeks back. There was a lot to be grateful for, even in a stressful situation. If we take a step back, and breathe, we can often find these moments as 'they are what they are' and move forward even possibly with joy. 

Words from Sumi Loundon Kim
"As parents, we often misattribute our child's behavior as the cause of our stress. But we know that on our 'good' days we are not so bothered if they make messes or get their clothes dirty. On our 'bad' days, though, we get terribly irritated and start chastising our children, saying 'How many times have I told you to eat with your chin over your plate! Now you've stained your shirt and it's going to be impossible to get the stain out." But it's not our children who are the real source of our stress: it's our relationship to what's happening. How can we work with this? The most immediate way is to ask ourselves when we feel stressed out, "Can I relate to this in a different way?"

Discussion Questions
1. What's your image of inner peace? Do you think that's realistic
2. Think of one routine activity that you will practice mindfully this week. What will you choose? 
3. Does any specific hindrance-sleepiness, restlessness, desire, aversion, or doubt - come up in family life for you? How do you work with that? Is there one hindrance that predominates in your own children's behavior? 
4. Have there been any stressful moments in your family recently? Thinking back on a particular moment, can you observe any distinction between what was happening, in and of itself, and your reaction to it? Is there something you would have done differently? 
5. How about that stressful moment from the perspective of how you are relating to it? Would a different interpretation or relationship to what was happening have changed your experience of it? 

Another article suggestion: 
Parenting during a pandemic is not easy.
'Parenting With Heartbreak' 
https://www.uua.org/re/blog/parenting-heartbreak?fbclid=IwAR3jtvvM0LuTqRYpXKchTepwseoWNWfsehElPnkhOfJniA0Nt_z7qgk24Fw