Parenting is a journey, and it's always better in community. Whether in person, at the park, or in helpful resources you trust online, building your village is so important.
I started my first business, Inner Light Coaching, in 2018 after I switched from a career in urban and regional planning. I built that business so I could work part-time for myself living in my strengths and using my skills and talents on my terms so I could also dedicate more time to my kids, who were then 1 and 4 years old. In 2019 my oldest wanted to homeschool, so we dove in and did it.
Little did we know what the next year would bring, and how comforted we became because we developed our skills, resources, and community around homeschooling both kids. In March 2020 we were able to offer help and guidance to parents who were suddenly thrown together 24/7 while learning and working, and we set up art and creative play for the neighborhood kids in our "pod" multiple times a week once we could safely connect. When the world opened up again in fits and spurts a year later and most kids went back to school, we kept learning at home for a couple more years until our kids asked to go to an in person school, which they started with joy and success in the fall of 2023.
While the pandemic and homeschooling years were extremely stressful for many, it was some of the calmest and most connected I've ever felt in my life because of the systems and structures we placed in the home, informed by childhood development experts, early childhood education pedagogy, and countless hours of conversations, research. and reading when encountering challenges I didn't know how to handle.
If there is anything I want to do today, it's to share what I've learned to make it better, and easier, for new parents, or parents who are looking for more help and resources. We don't live near any family and building communities of support and help have been paramount to our ability to thrive as a family. I want to pay it forward.