“Being a mother comes as naturally to me as being an astronaut.”
Author and clinical psychologist, Harrier Lerner has a lot to say about parenthood. She puts readers at ease by sharing, “Being a mother comes as naturally to me as being an astronaut.” I appreciate her candid reflection and confession. Parenthood is challenging. We would never expect a first-year aerospace engineering student to know “all the things about space.” So, why is it that we expect ourselves to know “all the things about parenting.” Sigh. We launch into parenthood -one way or another- sleep deprived, fueled by coffee, and hoping to somehow land among the “stars.” We did, after all, “shoot for the moon,” right? The sky's the limit with our parenting journey. When I think about it, Lerner is really onto something with her comparison. Parents and astronauts alike navigate time and space. I admire an astronaut’s ability to stay curious, present, flexible and self-regulated enough to solve problems in space (you know, a place without gravity? Earth-side parents can, at the ve