I get terribly frustrated and depressed when things aren't going fast enough with Advancing Parenting, advancingparenting.org. Then I get an email like this and I know I won't give up.
David,
I've been seeing your signs and bumper stickers and I assumed this huge organization was behind all this. To find out this is a one-man show floored me. Your words are concise, powerful, and applicable.
I write books on parenting; I blog on motherhood; I speak to groups of moms; I mentor moms. I hope my reach has even a fraction of the impact you are having.
I have grown out of a home where I was not treated with care and consideration. Some aspects of my upbringing planted amazing seeds and cultivated my capacity. Other injurious experiences thwarted my development emotional and spiritually and caused me to have to spend years of adulthood healing those wounds.
As a mom, I have had to continue to weed out old patterns and knee-jerk responses I learned in my own childhood. I have worked very hard not to repeat what was done or said to me. I have failed at times, but I have continued to grow. My children and I have beautiful relationships, and they know they are loved as is.
Your signs give hope - and a way. They are not condemning. They invite all of us to examine ourselves without ever pointing a finger. Parents who read your signs may have the first awareness of the contrast between their own childhood, how they treat their children and an alternative way. What a blessing! I pray you are richly blessed for all you are doing.
I just wanted to reach out to encourage and thank you.
Don't ever grow weary, or believe what you are doing doesn't matter. It does.
Sincerely,
Patty
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